Fresh Water

Aquifer: a body of rock that can contain water or allow water to flow through it

Permeability: a measure of how much water can flow through a substance

River Basin: an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries much like a bathtub catches all of the water that falls within its sides

Runoff: the drains away of water (or substance carried in it) from the surface of an area of land, a building or structure, etc.

Watershed: an area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas

Saturated zone: the area below the water a table in which the soil completely saturate with groundwater

Unsaturated zone: the area above the water table in which the soil contains both air is partially saturated with groundwater

Well: a hole drilled into the ground to access water contained in an aquifer

Water Table: level below the ground saturated with water

Water Properties

Adhesion: when the atoms or molecules of a substance stick to other substances

Cohesion: when the atoms or molecules of a substance stick together

Condensation: when gas transforms into a liquid as a result of cooling

Density: mass per unit volume; the amount of matter in a given amount of space

Evaporation: when a liquid transforms into a gas as a result of heating

Heat of Vaporization: the amount of heat that must be absorbed if a certain quantity of liquid is vaporized at a constant temperature

Hydrosphere: all of the waters on Earth’s surface

Polarity: having a positive and negative end

Precipitation: rain, snow, sleet, hail

Salinity: a measure of the amount of salt in a body of water

Solvent: a liquid or a gas that dissolves another substance

Specific Heat: how much heat energy it will take to raise or lower the temperature of an object

Surface Tension: atoms and molecules on the surface of a substance exhibit the property of cohesion

Water Cycle: the journey water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky and back again

Polarity: Opposites attract

Water is the same in all states or forms.

Groundwater & Aquifers

Groundwater

• Freshwater that soaks into the soil and is stored in the tiny spaces

Saturated Zone

• Underneath the water table that is filled with water

Unsaturated Zone

• Above the water table and it is dry

Water Table

• The water table is an underground boundary between the surface and the area where groundwater saturates spaces between sediments and cracks

Porous

• Is a term used to describe materials that will allow water to pass through them

Recharge

• Occurs when water seeps into the ground to replenish underground aquifers

Aquifers

• The aquifer is a rock layer that collects and stores groundwater

Surface Water

• Water that collects above ground is known as surface water

Well

• A well is a pipe in the ground that fills with groundwater

• Artension wells don’t need a pump because the natural pressure forces the water out