Science - Ch. 10 - Water Flashcards
Aquifer
A reservoir of fresh water that forms underground
Fresh water
A type of water with less than 1% dissolved salts
Glacier
Slow moving mass of ice and overlying snow
Groundwater
Water that flows and pools underground. It fills all the air spaces in the soil and in the tiny cracks in the rock.
Heat capacity
An ability of a substance to absorb heat
Ice sheet
A huge glacier that covers land. (particularly large)
Microclimate. Give an example
An area with a climate that differs somewhat from the climate of the area around it. ex. greenhouse
Polar icecap
Ice sheets located at the North and South Pole. (big ice masses at the poles)
Salinity
Amount of dissolved salts in water
Salt water
Type of water with 3.5% dissolved salts
Watershed
An area of land from which all the water drains or flows into one main body of water
Water table
The upper surface of groundwater
Well
Long shallow shaft drilled into the aquifer to obtain fresh water
What three things do you do on a typical day that are a part of the water cycle?
- boiling water
- skating on ice
- swimming
List human activities that can affect the watershed/ways groundwater can become polluted?
- pesticides
- manure
- acid rain
- flushing contaminates down toilets or drains
What is glacial period?
the cooling of Earth’s temperature. Also “ice age”
How can a large body of water affect the climate of an area?
The temperatures in an area near a large body of water are moderate, meaning that there are no drastic changes between highs and lows. (because of the waters large surface area)
What are the names of all of the 5 Great Lakes and the 3 oceans that are around Canada?
- Great Lakes - Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior, Huron
- Oceans - Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
3 factors that can influence the size of glaciers?
- Global warming & greenhouse effect can cause a glacier to melt and shrink
- Increased snowfall in a region can increase the size of a glacier
- The amount of precipitation can affect the size
Is most of Canada’s fresh water below ground? Why?
Yes. ⅔ of water in Canada underground, ⅓ on the surface.
Do oceans and lakes (fresh water) have the same concentration of salt in them?
No. Oceans have 3.5% dissolved salts where fresh water has less than 1%
What is the greenhouse effect?
greenhouse effect is when carbon dioxide is trapped in the atmosphere.
Is there a continental divide that separates Canada from the US?
No.
What is the great continental divide?
Water can’t flow uphill so mountain ridges create natural “divides”. The Rocky Mountains acts as a divide and are referred to as the Great Continental Divide.
Why do places near water have moderate temperatures?
Cause water has a higher heat capacity than the air or land. Water takes longer than heat or land, but the absorbed heat will stay longer.
