Water Key words

Question 1

What is a closed system?

Answer 1

A system where no matter enters or leaves, but energy can be transferred

Example: the global water cycle.

Question 2

What defines an open system?

Answer 2

A system where both matter and energy can enter and leave

Example: a drainage basin.

Question 3

What is the cryosphere?

Answer 3

The frozen parts of the Earth’s surface, including glaciers and ice caps.

Question 4

Define biosphere.

Answer 4

The global sum of all ecosystems, where life exists.

Question 5

What is hydrology?

Answer 5

The study of water movement, distribution, and quality on Earth.

Question 6

What is condensation?

Answer 6

The process where water vapour cools and changes into liquid water.

Question 7

What does precipitation refer to?

Answer 7

Water falling from the atmosphere to the ground as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Question 8

What is evaporation?

Answer 8

The process by which water changes from liquid to vapour due to heat.

Question 9

Define percolation.

Answer 9

The downward movement of water through soil into underlying rock.

Question 10

What is infiltration?

Answer 10

The process by which water soaks into the soil from the ground surface.

Question 11

What is transpiration?

Answer 11

The release of water vapour from plants into the atmosphere.

Question 12

What does evapotranspiration mean?

Answer 12

The combined loss of water from evaporation and transpiration.

Question 13

What is throughflow?

Answer 13

The lateral movement of water through soil towards rivers.

Question 14

Define runoff.

Answer 14

Water flowing over the land surface towards rivers, lakes, or oceans.

Question 15

What is orographic precipitation?

Answer 15

Precipitation caused when moist air is forced to rise over mountains, cooling and condensing.

Question 16

What does relief refer to in hydrology?

Answer 16

The physical shape and height of the land, influencing water movement.

Question 17

What is a water budget?

Answer 17

The balance between inputs (precipitation) and outputs (evaporation, runoff) in a system.

Question 18

Define drainage basin.

Answer 18

An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

Question 19

What is a hydrograph?

Answer 19

A graph showing how a river’s discharge changes over time after rainfall.

Question 20

What does drainage density indicate?

Answer 20

The total length of streams and rivers in a drainage basin divided by its area.

Question 21

What is abstraction in hydrology?

Answer 21

The removal of water from rivers, lakes, or groundwater for human use.

Question 22

Define deficit in terms of water supply.

Answer 22

When water demand exceeds supply in a region.

Question 23

What is an aquifer?

Answer 23

A layer of permeable rock or sediment that stores and transmits groundwater.

Question 24

What does functioning refer to in a natural system?

Answer 24

How a natural system (e.g., a drainage basin) operates under normal conditions.

Question 25

Define surplus in water supply.

Answer 25

When water supply exceeds demand.

Question 26

What is a drought?

Answer 26

An extended period of deficient rainfall relative to the statistical average.

Question 27

What does water stress mean?

Answer 27

When water availability is below 1,700 cubic metres per person per year.

Question 28

What is water scarcity?

Answer 28

When water availability falls below 1,000 cubic metres per person per year.

Question 29

Define water insecurity.

Answer 29

The lack of reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable, safe water.

Question 30

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 30

A community of living organisms interacting with their physical environment.

Question 31

What does saltwater encroachment refer to?

Answer 31

The movement of saltwater into freshwater aquifers, often due to over-abstraction.

Question 32

What are monsoon rains?

Answer 32

Seasonal heavy rainfall caused by a shift in wind patterns, typical in South Asia.

Question 33

What does finite mean in resource terms?

Answer 33

Limited in quantity; can run out (e.g., freshwater supplies).

Question 34

What is meant by meteorological?

Answer 34

Relating to weather and atmospheric conditions.

Question 35

What does prolonged mean?

Answer 35

Lasting for a long time (e.g., prolonged drought).

Question 36

What does exacerbate mean?

Answer 36

To make a problem worse.

Question 37

What is land use?

Answer 37

The human use of land, such as agriculture, urban development, or forestry.

Question 38

Define river catchment.

Answer 38

The area from which a river system collects water.

Question 39

What is a techno-fix?

Answer 39

The use of technology to solve environmental problems.

Question 40

What is hard engineering?

Answer 40

The use of man-made structures to control natural processes (e.g., dams, reservoirs).

Question 41

What does soft engineering involve?

Answer 41

Managing natural processes through sustainable, natural methods (e.g., afforestation, floodplain zoning).

Question 42

What is water transfer?

Answer 42

The movement of water from areas of surplus to areas of deficit.

Question 43

What does desalination refer to?

Answer 43

The process of removing salt from seawater to produce freshwater.

Question 44

What is infrastructure?

Answer 44

The physical systems and structures needed for society to function (e.g., water supply networks).

Question 45

What is an input in hydrology?

Answer 45

Water entering a system, such as precipitation into a drainage basin.

Question 46

What is an output in hydrology?

Answer 46

Water leaving a system, such as evaporation or river discharge.

Question 47

What is permafrost?

Answer 47

Permanently frozen ground found in polar regions.

Question 48

What are oscillations in climate patterns?

Answer 48

Natural changes in climate patterns, often cyclical, like ENSO.

Question 49

What does the ENSO cycle refer to?

Answer 49

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation, a periodic variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the Pacific Ocean.

Question 50

What does uncertainty mean in environmental science?

Answer 50

The difficulty in predicting future conditions due to incomplete knowledge or complex variables.

Question 51

What is trans-boundary in hydrology?

Answer 51

A situation or resource (e.g., river) that crosses political or national borders.

Question 52

What is sanitation?

Answer 52

Access to clean water and facilities for the safe disposal of human waste.

Question 53

What is an integrated drainage basin?

Answer 53

A management approach considering the whole river basin and all users to achieve sustainable water use.