SCIENCE LESSON 3 VOCABULARY Flashcards
SURFACE WATER
Water above the earth’s surface.
Found in: streams, rivers, and lakes
Comes from: precipitation, or water that comes up from underground to the surface of the earth.
GROUNDWATER
Water that is found in the spaces between rock particles below the Earth’s surface.
WATER TABLE
This is the upper boundary, or surface, of Groundwater. The amount of water can rise or fall.
CHANNEL
the path that a stream follows, this can get wider and deeper, as the stream continues to erode rock and soil.
TRIBUTARY
a smaller stream that feeds into a river and eventually into a river system.
WATERSHED
is the area of land that is drained by a river system
DIVIDE
watersheds are separated by a ridge or an area of higher ground is called a divide
GRADIENT
A measure of the change in elevation over a certain distance. In other words, this measures the steepness, or slope/ The higher this is the faster the water moves and the energy is higher so the erosion of rock and soil is greater.
flow
is the amount of water that moves through the river channel in a given amount of time.
stream load
materials that are carried by a stream.
The high flow carries a larger stream load. The size of the particles depends on the water speed. The stream load is usually dumped where the stream enters lakes and oceans.
AQUIFIER
is a body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows it to flow.
PORES
The open spaces between particles of rock or sediment is called pores.
POROSITY
This is the percentage of the rock that is composed of pore space. The greater the pore space the higher the porosity.
Example: Gravel has higher porosity than sand.
PERMEABILITY
is the measure of how easily water can flow through an aquifer. When many pores in the aquifer are connected this means it has a high permeability.
Recharge zone
surface water that trickles down into the ground can reach the water table and enter an aquifer, this is called a recharge zone.
discharge zone
where the water table meets the surface, may pool to form a wetland, or may flow out as a spring, this is called discharge.
Groundwater
source of drinking water
The water located within the rocks below Earth’s Surface
Fresh water
Also a form of drinking water
75% of all freshwater used in the United States comes from surface water, 25% from groundwater.
Fresh water is used for drinking, agriculture, industry, transportation, and recreation.
WATER
97% of water on Earth is salt water and only 3% is fresh water.
Urbanization
Large cities use a lot of water, this is a problem as the cities get larger and larger.
water supply
is the availability of water
water quality
is a measure of how clean or polluted water is.
water supply system
this is what carries water from groundwater or surface water so people can use the water. Examples: pipes, buckets…
water pollution
this occurs when waste or other material is added to waters o that is harmful to organisms that use it or live in it.
fresh water
this comes from precipitation or may melt from ice and snow.
point-source pollution
this type of pollution comes from one specific site, for example, a major chemical spill. This can typically be fixed once the source is found.
nonpoint-source pollution
this comes from many small sources and is more difficult to control. An example is runoff or polluted water reaching the groundwater supply.
thermal pollution
Any heating of natural water that results from human activity.
For example: water is used to cool some power plants, and this water is returned to the lake or river at a higher temperature, and this has less oxygen for the organisms in the river.
chemical pollution
occurs when harmful chemicals are added to water supplies.
Examples: acid rain, factories produce toxic waste that gets into the water.
biological pollution
occurs when live or dead organisms are added to water supplies.
eutrophication
Freshwater often contains nutrients from decomposing organisms, and the increase of this in water is called eutrophication.
potable
This is water that is suitable for drinking.
reservoir
A BODY OF WATER THAT USUALLY FORMS BEHIND A DAM
CANALS OR AQUADUCTS
WATER THAT IS DIVERTED INTO PIPELINES OF ARTIFICIAL CHANNELS
weathering
Natural processes cause the mechanical breakdown of rocks into smaller pieces and do not change the rock’s chemical composition.
physical weathering
The process by which rock is broken down into smaller pieces by physical changes. This occurs when there is tempature changes, pressure changes, plant and animal actions, water, wind and gravity.
acid precipitation
rain, sleet or snow that contains a high concentration of acids.
abrasion
the process by which rock is reduced in size by the scraping action of other rocks driven by water, wind, and gravity.
Exfoliation
is the process by which outer layers of rock slowly peel away due to pressure changes.
physical weathering
animals can cause physical weathering, such as beavers that dig burrows in the ground, they move soil and allow new soil to be exposed and this can weather.
chemical weathering
is the breakdown of rocks by chemical reactions.
plant growth can cause physical weathering
if a sidewalk has a crack plants can grow and if not fixed the sidewalk will soon be destroyed as more and more plants break up the concrete.
oxidation
the process by which other chemicals combine with oxygen, this is called oxidation, you can see this when rocks surfaces change color
erosion
the process by which wind, water, ice or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to the other
deposition
the process where the material is laid down.
Example: a river deposits sand on the side of the river bank
floodplain
an area along a river that forms from sediment deposited when the river overflows its banks
delta
a mass of material deposited in a triangular or fan shape at the mouth of river or stream
Alluvial Fan
It is a fan-shaped deposit that forms on dry land.
groundwater
the water that is beneath the Earth’s surface
shoreline
the boundary between land and a body of water
beach
an area of the shoreline that is made up of deposited sediment
sandbar
a low ridge of sand deposited along the shore of a lake or sea
barrier island
a long ridge of sand or narrow island that lies parallel to the shore
dune
a mound of wind-deposited sand that moves as a result of the action of wind
Loess
It is thick deposits of windblown, finegrained sediment.
glacier
a large mass of ice that exists year-round and moves over land
glacial drift
the rock material carried and deposited by glaciers
creep
the slow downhill movement weathered rock material
rockfall
the rapid mass movement of rock down a steep slope or cliff
landslide
the sudden movement of rock and soil down a slope
mudflow
It is a rapid movement of a large mass of mud.
ecoregion
It is an ecosystem that covers a large area. Climate and plant are similiar.
prairie
It is a large, treeless area of land that is characterized by deep, fertile soil.
marsh
Treeless, wetland ecosystem in which plants such as grasses grow.
plain
An are of land that has gentle slopes and small differences in elevation.
playa lake
A playa is nearly level surface that is located in the lowest part of the dessert basin. When covered with shallow water after rain, it forms a playa lake.
woodland
It is a ecosystem in which trees are the main form of plant life.
plateau
It is a large flat area higher then the surrounding land.
montane
It is a mountainous area of land in which evergreens are the main kind of plant life.
