Unit Ten Science Grade Six Flashcards
(48 cards)
What happens to water when given the opportunity?
Water goes down because it obeys gravity.
What are streams?
Streams are freshwater that flows downhill in a channel.
What are big streams usually called?
Big streams are usually called rivers.
What are the bottoms of streams and rivers called?
The bottoms are called beds.
What are the sides of streams and rivers called?
The sides are called banks.
What is the source of a river?
The source is where the river starts and can also be called its headwaters.
What are some sources of rivers?
Sources can include springs, melting snow, rainfall in mountains, or even a lake or pond.
What are smaller streams that feed into larger rivers called?
They are called tributaries.
What is the meeting point of tributaries called?
The meeting point is called a confluence.
What are curved stretches of a river in flatter land called?
They are called meanders.
What is the land that is regularly flooded by a river called?
It is called the floodplain.
How do oxbow lakes form?
Oxbow lakes form when meanders are cut off from the river’s flow.
What forms at the mouth of a river?
A delta can form at the mouth of a river.
How do deltas form?
Deltas form because sediment starts settling out as the current slows down.
What is formed where freshwater mixes with saltwater?
An estuary is formed, which is an unusual ecosystem.
What is a river basin?
A river basin, or watershed, is the area of land where all the water drains into a particular river.
What is the Continental Divide?
The Continental Divide is the division of the Americas where water flows to either the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean.
What are ponds and lakes?
Ponds and lakes are standing bodies of water.
What does ‘standing’ mean in the context of water bodies?
It means they stay in place instead of moving around or disappearing.
How do glacial lakes form?
Glacial lakes form from glaciers scraping the ground away, and when the glacier melts, the water fills the created hole.
What are kettle lakes?
Kettle lakes form from glacial sediments creating a dam.
What percentage of the world’s fresh surface water do the Great Lakes hold?
The Great Lakes hold 22% of the world’s fresh surface water.
What is created when a dam is built to form an artificial lake?
A reservoir is created.
What can cause floods?
Floods can happen due to too much rain, too much water from upstream, or too much melted snow upstream.
