CHAPTER 3: WATER AND ITS SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS

Question 1

What are the physical states of water?

Answer 1

Solid, liquid and gaseous state.

Question 2

How does water change its states?

Answer 2

Through melting, freezing, evaporation and condensation

Question 3

What are water stores?

Answer 3

water stores are places where water is contained.

Question 4

What groups can water stores be categorised in? Give examples of the categories.

Answer 4

They are catogerised as freshwater and saltwater stores. Glaciers, rivers, lakes, groundwater and soils contain freshwater. Oceans are saltwater stores.

Question 5

What does it mean when a water store contains freshwater?

Answer 5

It means that the water contains low amounts of salt and can be used more readily.

Question 6

What does it mean when a water store contains saltwater?

Answer 6

It means that the water contains high amount of salts, too much salt to be used directly.

Question 7

How are the water stores distributed on earth? Why?

Answer 7

Water stores are distributed unevenly on earth. This can be seen as there is only 3.5% of freshwater in the world, while the other 96.5% are saltwater.

Question 8

Can water transfers from different stores? Is this a good thing?

Answer 8

Yes. These movements are known as flow. This is not a good thing as water from freshwater stores can flow to saltwater stores, which contaminates the freshwater to become saltwater. Thus less freshwater is available.

Question 9

What are oceans? Give some examples.

Answer 9

Oceans are large masses of water that are connected to one another. For example, the largest ocean, pacific ocean. The second largest ocean, the atlantic ocean. The third largest ocean, the indian ocean. Arctic ocean where polar bears swim and the southern ocean where penguins swim.

Question 10

What are lakes? Where do they receive the water?

Answer 10

Lakes are water bodies surrounded by land. They may receive water from rain, snow or rivers.

Question 11

What are glaciers? Where are they found?

Answer 11

Glaciers are large masses of ice that rest on land or float in the sea. They’re found in places where it snows throughout the year so tht enough snow accumulates and hardens into ice. They are very heavy, thus moving slowly.

Question 12

What are the % of water stores?

Answer 12

96.5% oceans, 3.5% fresh water

Question 13

What are rivers? Where do they flow to?

Answer 13

Rivers are natural flows of freshwater across the land that store water temporarily before it flows into another water body. They flow from places of higher elevation as gravity pulls water downwards.

Question 14

What are the parts of a river and they’re purpose?

Answer 14

River source: Marks the point where a river begins. river mouth marks the place where a river flows into another water body.

Question 15

What are meanders?

Answer 15

The twisting and turning points of a river. (curves, bends. loops, turns, winding)

Question 16

What are tributaries?

Answer 16

They are rivers that enter a larger water body(contributes water)

Question 17

What are distributaries?

Answer 17

They are rivers which branch off to form smaller streams, also known as river deltas.

Question 18

What is evapotranspirations?

Answer 18

water from liquid to gaseous state.

Question 19

Give an example of a saltwater lake. Why is it named that?

Answer 19

Caspian Sea, they call it sea due to it’ high salt content and vastness.(big)

Question 20

What is soil? How is water stored there? What is the water stored called?

Answer 20

Refers to the loose topmost layer of Earth’s surface where plants grow. When it rains water passes through the soil through small openings known as pores. Water stored in the soil is known as soil moisture.

Question 21

Where is groundwater? How is the water stored there? What countries use ground water and for what purpose?

Answer 21

Ground water is found below the surface of the Earth. Water enters the ground through pores in the soil due to gravity. It forms when a part of this water makes its way up to the rocks beneath , filling up pores and cracks of these rocks. For example, China and India use groundwater to grow crops and Indonesia and Thailand use ground water for household activities.

Question 22

What is the hydrological cycle? What are the processes?

Answer 22

The sequence of processes that occur to ensure that water is replenished naturally. Precipitation, groundwater, surface runoff, evaporation, transpiration and condensation.

Question 23

Hydrological process:precipitation

Answer 23

Water falls as rain or snow if the air is cold enough

Question 24

Hydrological process:Groundwater

Answer 24

The water that seeps through the ground are absorbed by plants or stored as ground water.

Question 25

Hydrological process:Surface runoff

Answer 25

water flows from the highlands and over the ground surface into rivers and streams

Question 26

Hydrological process:evaporation

Answer 26

The sun’s heat causes the water to evaporate into water vapour.

Question 27

Hydrological process:condensation

Answer 27

When water vapour looses heat and condenses to become water droplets. The small water droplets combine to form bigger water droplets, which then form clouds.

Question 28

What does a water budget tell us?

Answer 28

It tells us the amount of water available in an area, by describing the amount of water flowing in and out of a catchment area.

Question 29

What is an input?

Answer 29

Processes that increase the amount of water in a catchment are known as inputs.

Question 30

What is an output?

Answer 30

Processes that decrease the amount of water in a catchment area are known as outputs.

Question 31

What is a water surplus?

Answer 31

Input>output

Question 32

What is a water deficit?

Answer 32

Input

Question 33

Drought

Answer 33

-supply +demand=drought

Question 34

What is net change?

Answer 34

The amount of water stored in a catchment changing.