Week 16 Vocab

Question 1

All the bodies of fresh water, salt water, ice, and snow that are found above the ground.

Answer 1

Surface Water

Question 2

A flowing network of rivers and streams draining a river basin.

Answer 2

River System

Question 3

The area of land that is drained by a water system.

Answer 3

Watershed

Question 4

The water that is beneath the Earth’s surface.

Answer 4

Groundwater

Question 5

A body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater.

Answer 5

Aquifer

Question 6

The percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces.

Answer 6

Porosity

Question 7

The ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces or pores.

Answer 7

Permeability

Question 8

An area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer.

Answer 8

Recharge Zone

Question 9

Suitable for drinking.

Answer 9

Potable

Question 10

A microorganism, another organism, a virus, or a protein that causes disease; an infectious agent.

Answer 10

Pathogen

Question 11

A structure that is built across a river to control the river’s flow.

Answer 11

Dam

Question 12

An artificial body of water that usually forms behind a dam.

Answer 12

Reservoir

Question 13

A process of removing salt from ocean water.

Answer 13

Desalination

Question 14

Contamination of water by waste matter or other material that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to the water.

Answer 14

Water Pollution

Question 15

Pollution that comes from a specific site.

Answer 15

Point-Source Pollution

Question 16

Pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single specific site; an example is pollution that reaches a body of water from streets and storm sewers.

Answer 16

Nonpoint-Source Pollution

Question 17

Water that contains wastes from homes or industry.

Answer 17

Wastewater

Question 18

A process that increases the amount of nutrients in a body of water through human activities, such as waste disposal and land drainage.

Answer 18

Artificial Eutrophication

Question 19

A temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life.

Answer 19

Thermal Pollution

Question 20

The accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain.

Answer 20

Biomagnification