Fresh and Saltwater Systems

Using water in its immediate form to do something directly


eg. Brushing teeth, drinking, washing car, swimming, etc...

Using a product/good/service that has used water in the process.

eg. Eating a salad (plants needed water to grow), wearing a shirt (used water in the manufacturing process), etc...

Water that has a low amount of dissolved salts

Water that has a high salt content

97%

3%

Icecaps, Ground Water, Surface Water (lakes, rivers, streams)

77%

22%

1%

The measurement of how "pure" water is (aka the amount of pure H2O vs. the amount of dissolved substances in a sample of water)

Various dissolved substances (calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium......)

Water with high amounts of dissolved minerals or substances

Water with low amounts of dissolved minerals or substances

A common bacteria that can appear in purified water sources

Method used to determine the various substances that can be dissolved in a water sample

• 1. Smell/Taste
• 2. Turbidity 
• 3. Toxins 
• 4. Bacteria 
• 5. Hardness 
• 6. pH 
• 7. Dissolved Oxygen
• 8. Floating Solids
• 9. Dissolved Solids

How cloudy the water looks

The process of turning salt water into fresh water that involves boiling water into a vapor and then condensing it back into a liquid which leaves salts and other dissolved particles behind

The process of turning salt water into fresh water by forcing it through a semi-permeable membrane which allows water particles through, but blocks most other things like salt particles.

The process of breaking rocks or land down into smaller sediment

The process of moving weathered sediment from one place to another via water, wind, etc...

Taking the sediment that has been eroded and moved away, and having it settle somewhere else.

Up and down movement of water (caused by wind)

Movement of water in and out caused by the gravitational pull of the moon

Any area of land that eventually drains out into an ocean

eg. Lakes, Rivers, Streams, Ponds, etc.

A description of a river's characteristics

eg. Steepness, flow speed, width, depth, water quality, etc.

The end of the river where it drains into a lake/ocean

How many water-borne materials (rocks, soil, etc.) a river is carrying. 

Faster rivers can carry more than slower rivers

Mountains/glaciers

The process of chemicals dissolving rocks/other materials.

When water acts as a chemical weathering agent, it is not moving.

The process of moving substances dissolving rocks/other materials

When water acts as a physical weathering agent, it must be moving.

Large, moving body of ice

A glacier that covers a large area of land

Glaciers that are trapped up in mountain peaks

When the rate of snowfall --> ice build up is greater than the rate of melting

When the rate of snowfall --> ice build up is slower than the rate of melting

When the rate of snowfall --> ice build up is the same as the rate of melting

A way of identifying objects and mapping the ocean floor by using sound

Area in the ocean floor where tectonic plates are moving away from each other due to magma spewing up between them

Deep ocean pits that are caused by tectonic plates running into each other and forming subduction zones

Conditions like wind, rain, temperature, etc. in an area on any given day

Average weather of an area measured over a long period of time

Streams of water that move within larger bodies of water due to convection, wind, salinity differences, or the earth's rotation

Areas in the world where biotic things interact with abiotic things

Living organisms

Non-living features of an ecosystem

eg. rocks, sun, air, water, etc.

The variety of different organisms living in an ecosystem (plants and animals)

• 1. Upper Zone
• 2. Middle Zone
• 3. Lower Zone

Freshwater Zone. Closest to the shore, allows for the most sunlight and has plants growing on the lakebed

Freshwater Zone. Open water, but still gets lots of sunlight. No plants growing on the lakebed but still lets algae grow.

Freshwater Zone. Little to no light, low oxygen, few organisms living.

• 1. Estuary
• 2. Intertidal Zone
• 3. Continental Shelf
• 4. Oceanic Zone

Saltwater Zone. The area where rivers and oceans meet. Water is brackish with lots of nutrients. Fairly shallow.

Saltwater Zone. Seashores and beaches. Is covered by water depending on the time of day.

Saltwater Zone. Area of the continent that is under water, still enough sunlight for life.

Saltwater Zone. Area where it stops being the continent and becomes the ocean. Little sunlight, quite deep.

Physical or behavioral characteristic that allows an animal to survive in a particular environment.

• 1. Temperature
• 2. Light
• 3. Pressure
• 4. Salinity
• 5. Water Movement

A group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific area.

• 1. Seasonal Change
• 2. Short Term Change
• 3. Long Term Change

Population change that happens every year, and is predictable. Effects don't last for very long.

Population change whose effects don't last for very long. Brought on by man-made or natural disasters.

Population change whose effects last for quite a long time. Brought on by man-made effects or natural disasters.

An animal living in an aquatic environment that can give clues towards the quality of the water they are living in by if they look healthy or not.

• 1. Agricultural (73%)
• 2. Industrial (22%)
• 3. Domestic (5%)

Largest category of human water use. Use water to grow crops and raise livestock.

Second largest category of human water use. Use water to create goods and products.

Smallest category of human water use. Water used for anything in personal lives (drinking, swimming, hygiene, etc.)

The process of transporting water from one place to another for the use of distributing to things like crops.

The process of watering-down a chemical by mixing it with water so it is not as toxic.

Introducing hot water into an aquatic ecosystem that isn't used to it.

Process of toxins or chemicals washing from places like farms or cities into water bodies.

The process of checking on or observing something for scientific purposes

Observing something over a long period of time in order to look at the effects of possible risks nearby.

Laws that demand better practice or special rules for industries.