Download Name Date Period ______ Study Guide for Water Unit Test Key Part

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Study Guide for Water Unit Test Key
Part I. Label each part of the Water Cycle
1. Define the following words:

Condensation: when water vapor cools into water droplets to form clouds. Water loses
energy during this process.

Evaporation: when water changes from a liquid to a gas due to the energy from the sun.
Water gains energy during this process.

Infiltration: the ability of water to move through the soil back to groundwater.

Transpiration: the evaporation of water from pores of plants or trees. (plant sweat)

Runoff: precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers.

Groundwater (subsurface runoff) : precipitation that infiltrates (soaks) into the ground and
stored underground.

Accumulation: the collecting or gathering of water into a large area such as oceans or lakes.
2. What is precipitation? What are the four types? Precipitation is the liquid droplets falling back to
the Earth. The 4 types are Rain, Sleet, Snow, & Hail
3. The sun’s energy causes this to happen. Evaporation
Part II. Label the Ocean Floor and define in your own words!
A. Continental shelf – gently sloping section of the continental margin located between the shoreline
and slope.
B. Continental slope – the steeply inclined section of the continental margin located between the
shelf and rise.
C. Abyssal plain – a large, flat, almost level area of the deep-ocean basin.
D. Mid-ocean ridge – a long, undersea mountain chain that forms along the floor of the major
oceans.
E. Rift valley – a long, narrow valley that forms as tectonic plates separate.
F. Seamount – a submerged mountain on the ocean floor that is at least 1,000 m high and has a
volcanic origin.
G. Trench – a seep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic
islands or a continental margin.
H. Volcanic Island—a seamount that has risen above sea level.
Part III. Division of Water
1. What is the percent of water on earth?
71%
2. What are the percents for both saltwater and freshwater? Saltwater~97%; Freshwater~ 3%
3. Where is most freshwater found? Ice Caps & Glaciers
4. Which salt is most abundant?
Sodium Chloride
5. What is salinity? Explain. The amount of salt in a given amount of liquid.
6. What are the 3 temperature zones of the ocean? Give a brief description of each. Surface Zone~ top
layer, warmed by the sun’s energy, warmest layer, layer you can see light (light penetrates);
Thermocline~ Middle layer, temperature drops the quickest; Deep Zone ~ Average temperature is
1-4 degrees Celsius
7. What is the most important function of the ocean? Absorb and hold energy
8. What do scientists use to map the ocean floor? Sonar
9. What are the 3 factors that affect salinity? Freshwater Inflow, Evaporation, & Circulation
10. What is desalination? Removal of salt from ocean water
Part IV. The Oceans
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Arctic
Southern
Atlantic
Pacific
Indian
Saltiest: Atlantic
Largest: Pacific
Warmest: Indian
Below 60˚S latitude: Southern
Smallest: Arctic
Part V. Groundwater
1. What is the water table? Where is it located?
The upper surface of the underground water; the
upper boundary of the zone of saturation. It is located between the zone of aeration and zone of
saturation.
2. What is permeability? The ability of a rock to let fluid/water pass through its open spaces.
3. What is porosity? The percentage of open spaces between individual rock particles.
4. What are the 3 types of loads? Explain each type. Bed load~ large materials (pebbles/boulders) in
the stream bed; Suspended Load~ small rock and soil in suspension that makes the river look
muddy; Dissolved load- a material carried in solution which means the material dissolved in the
water.
5. What is the difference between non-point source and point source pollution? Non-point source comes
from many sources and is hard to control. Point source comes from a specific site/one site. It can
be easily controlled.
Part VI. Currents
1. Compare and contrast deep currents and surface currents. Deep Currents are streamlike movements
of water deep below the surface where Surface Currents are currents are streamlike movement that
curve at or near the surface of the water. They are created by wind.
2. How does the Gulf Stream affect our climate and other climates? It carries warm, moist air along
our East coast and up to climates (British Isles) that otherwise would be much cooler.
3. What is El Nino? How does it change the climate? The change in the water temperature in the
Pacific Ocean that produces a warm current. It causes floods in normally dry areas, mudslides,
landslides, and droughts in normally moist areas.
4. What is the Coriolis Effect? The apparent curving of moving objects from a straight path due to
the earth’s rotation.
Part VII. Waves and Tides
1. What are the four parts of a wave? Explain each of the 4 parts. Crest – highest part of the wave,
Trough – lowest part of the wave, Wavelength – the distance between two wave crests or wave
troughs, & Wave height – vertical distance between the crest and trough of a wave.
2. What causes waves to occur? The movement of energy through the water.