Unit 4: Water Systems On Earth

Question 1

Aquifer

Answer 1

Water-bearing formation, below the water table, where water fills all the spaces in the rock, sediment, or soil material (Pg. 278)

Question 2

Brackish Water

Answer 2

Fresh water mixed with salt water; the salinity here is higher than in fresh water, but lower that in the open ocean (Pg. 286)

Question 3

Climate

Answer 3

Average weather measure over a long period of time (Pg. 297)

Question 4

Cold Surface Currents

Answer 4

Currents that move from polar or temperate areas to tropical areas (Pg. 317)

Question 5

Condensation

Answer 5

Change of state from a gas to a liquid (Pg. 275)

Question 6

Continental Glaciers

Answer 6

Glaciers that cover vast areas of land; also called ice sheets (Pg. 331)

Question 7

Convection Currents

Answer 7

Movement of a fluid, such as air or water, that occurs due to temperature differences in the fluid (Pg. 317)

Question 8

Currents

Answer 8

Streams of water that move within a larger body of water (Pg. 315)

Question 9

Eskers

Answer 9

Deposits of sand and gravel in the pater of a winding river that form when parts of a glacier melt (Pg. 330)

Question 10

Estuary

Answer 10

Where fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with the salt water of the ocean; many different kinds of plants, animals, and insects that can tolerate the brackish water liver here (Pg. 290)

Question 11

Evaporation

Answer 11

Change of state from a liquid to a gas (Pg. 275)

Question 12

Evapotranspiration

Answer 12

Release of water into the air by plants due to the process of transpiration (Pg. 275)

Question 13

Flood Plain

Answer 13

Area flooded when a river overflows it’s banks; flood plains are a natural part of a river system (Pg. 343)

Question 14

Glaciers

Answer 14

Large moving bodies of ice that form part of the water cycle and move in response to gravity; glaciers can be many meters or even kilometres thick (Pg. 303)

Question 15

Ground Water

Answer 15

Water that soaks into the ground, collecting in the spaces in permeable rock or in between grains of gravel, sand, soil, and sediment (Pg. 277)

Question 16

Humidity

Answer 16

Measure of how much water is in the air (Pg. 273)

Question 17

Intertidal Zone

Answer 17

Shoreline along the ocean coast that is covered with water or uncovered depending on the tide; animals have developed special adaptations to life in this zone (Pg. 290)

Question 18

Land Breeze

Answer 18

Convection current that blows if the land and onto the water (Pg. 325)

Question 19

Limnetic Zone

Answer 19

Deeper open water area of a lake that still has light penetration; phytoplankton are food for the fish that live here (Pg. 292)

Question 20

Littoral Zone

Answer 20

The zone from the shore of a lake to the location where aquatic plants stop growing (Pg. 292)

Question 21

Local Climate

Answer 21

The average weather measured over a long period in a particular area (Pg. 312)

Question 22

Marine

Answer 22

Description of anything related to the ocean (Pg. 289)

Question 23

Microclimate

Answer 23

Areas within a larger climate area that have distinctly different characteristics (Pg. 313)

Question 24

Oceanic Zone

Answer 24

Deepest parts of the ocean beyond the continental shelves; much of this water receives no light at all, and since it is also far from shore, not as many nutrients are available for plants (Pg. 291)

Question 25

Oceans

Answer 25

The large areas of salt water solution that cover most of the Earth’s surface (Pg. 283)

Question 26

Phytoplankton

Answer 26

Microscopic plants that live in the upper part of the ocean; many marine animals feed on these plants (Pg. 291)

Question 27

Precipitation

Answer 27

Solid (ice, snow) or liquid water that falls from clouds (Pg. 275)

Question 28

Profundal Zone

Answer 28

Deepest water of a lake; no light penetrates this zone, so no plants grow here (Pg. 292)

Question 29

Runoff

Answer 29

The draining away of water from the ground surface into rivers and streams (Pg. 283)

Question 30

Salinity

Answer 30

The amount of salt in water (Pg. 283)

Question 31

Sea Breeze

Answer 31

Convection current that blows off the water and onto the land (Pg. 325)

Question 32

Source

Answer 32

The beginning point of a river (Pg 303)

Question 33

Surface Water

Answer 33

Water in rivers, streams, lakes and ponds (Pg. 277)

Question 34

Swells

Answer 34

Waves in the open water far from shore (Pg. 309)

Question 35

Valley Glaciers

Answer 35

Glaciers that form high up in mountain ranges and spread down between the peaks of high valleys (Pg. 331)

Question 36

Warm Surface Currents

Answer 36

Currents that flow from tropical areas to cooler or temperate areas (Pg. 316)

Question 37

Water Cycle

Answer 37

Movement of water through different states of matter (Pg. 275)

Question 38

Water Table

Answer 38

Boundary between the area where all the spaces between water-bearing materials are full of water and the area where the spaces are filled with a mixture of air and water (Pg. 277)

Question 39

Watershed

Answer 39

All the areas of land that drain into one main lake or river (Pg. 277)

Question 40

Waves

Answer 40

Patterns of energy that move along the water’s surface, caused by energy transfer between water molecules (Pg. 309)

Question 41

Wind

Answer 41

The energy of moving air (Pg. 309)