Water Unit Vocabulary - Willis' Science



APES Water Unit Vocabulary

Properties of Water

Adhesion – the tendency of water to stick to other substances

Buoyancy – the ability of a fluid to exert an upward force on an object

Capillary Action – the process that moves water through a narrow porous space

Cohesion – the attractive force between water molecules

Density – the measure of mass of a substance per unit volume

Insoluble – not soluble; does not dissolve in a solvent

Polarity – uneven distribution of charges across a molecule

Soluble – having the ability to be dissolved in another substance

Specific Heat – the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius

Surface Tension – the force that acts on the surface of water

Universal Solvent – the quality of water that makes it able to dissolve more substances that any other substance

Solvent- the substance that does the dissolving

Solute- the substance the is being dissolved

Distribution of Water/Water Cycle

Condensation – the process of warm air cooling as it rises and releasing moisture in the form of a liquid

Evaporation – the process by which a liquid is changed into a vapor

Fresh water – water on Earth that is used for human consumption

Groundwater – water located below Earth’s surface

Human Consumption – the ability for humans to eat/drink

Hydrosphere – the portion of the Earth that contains water

Impermeable – does not allow water to move through

Infiltration – water that seeps into rocks and between particles of soil

Percolation – the downward movement of water through pores and other spaces in soil due to gravity

Permeable – having pores or openings that allow water (or other liquids) to flow through them

Precipitation – the rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls from clouds onto the Earth’s land and oceans

Runoff – is precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers. This water later enters oceans.

Surface Water – water found on the surface of the Earth

Transpiration – water vapor given off by plant photosynthesis

Water Cycle – the continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean

Structure of the Hydrosphere

Aquifer – an underground layer of rock or soil that holds water

Artesian Well – a well in which water rises because of pressure within aquifer

Drought – a long period of scarce rainfall

Glaciers – a large mass of moving ice and snow on land

Hydrology – the study of water

Hydrosphere – the portion of Earth that contains water

Icecaps – a glacier forming on an extensive area of relatively level land and flowing outward from its center

Icebergs – a large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier

Reservoir – a lake that stores water for human use

River Basin – the region of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Watershed – the land area that supplies water to a river system

Wetland – a land area that is covered with a shallow layer of water during some or all of the year. AKA estuary, swamp, bog

Ocean Vocabulary

Oceanography - The study and exploration of the world's ocean.

ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) - Unmanned submersible tethered to a mother ship and operated by pilots using a joy stick.

Scuba - Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus - device that allows divers to breathe underwater for long periods of time

SONAR - SOund NAvigation Ranging - used to measure ocean depth by sending sound to bounce off the ocean floor.

Submersible – A small submarine used to explore the ocean depths; equipped with windows, lights, mechanical arms, cameras and other scientific instruments capable of seeing and recording data.

Abyssal Plain - mostly flat portion of ocean floor which provides a home to a variety of unique organisms that are adapted to the extreme conditions of this habitat.

Benthos - organisms that live on or in the ocean floor

Chemosynthesis - the production of organic material by energy from chemical reactions rather than light.

Consumer - feed on other organisms (plant or animal) because they cannot make their own food.

Continental Shelf - extends from the edge of the continent outward to where the bottom sharply drops off into a steep slope.

Continental Slope - The steep incline between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain

Ecosystem - A community of different but interdependent species and their non-living environment.

Estuary – body of water where a river meets the ocean

Food Chain - A hierarchy of food relationships from the simplest to most complex.

Habitat - The immediate space where an animal or plant lives and has food, water and protection.

Hydrothermal Vent - An opening in the sea floor where super-heated water and other material are discharged into the surrounding seawater

Intertidal Zone - the area that lies between the low-tide and the high-tide line.

Mid-Ocean Ridge - A chain of undersea mountains that circles the earth through every ocean.

Nekton - free-swimming organisms whose movements are independent of the tides, currents, and waves

Neritic Zone - the first 200 meters (656 feet) of ocean water, which includes the seashore and most of the continental shelf.

Oceanic Zone - Extends from 200 meters (656 feet) deep all the way down to the bottom of the ocean.

Ocean trench - the deepest parts of the ocean. The deepest one is the Marianas Trench (located in the South Pacific Ocean - almost 5 miles (8.05 kilometers) deep.

Photosynthesis - A chemical process where plants and algae use a sun's energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.

Producer - a living thing that produces its own food within itself, usually by using sunlight energy in photosynthesis

Salinity – the amount of dissolved solids in seawater

Seamount - A volcanic peak that rises at least 3280 feet (1000 m) from the seafloor.

Upwelling - the upward movement to the ocean surface of deeper, cold and usually nutrient-rich waters, especially along some shores, due to the offshore movement of surface waters

Protecting Our Waters

Bio indicator – organisms or components of organisms that are used to assess the health of a water system; an organism or community associated with particular environmental condition a change to the number of organisms or the proportions of the community indicate a change in the environment.

Dissolved Oxygen – Measure of water quality indicating free oxygen dissolved in water.

Indicator – A chemical material or solution which can be used to show (usually by a change in color) the endpoint of a chemical reaction or chemical concentration. Examples

Nitrate – nitrogen compounds used for growth by plants and algae; a compound that can be used by photosynthetic life forms to obtain the nitrogen needed for survival

pH – the measure of how acidic or basic a substance.

pH scale – rating of how acidic or basic a substance is the scale goes from 0 to 14 with 7 being neutral values less than 7 being acidic and values greater than 7 being

Turbidity – a measure of the clarity of the water (how clear is it?)

Water quality – used to describe the health of a water system

Contaminates – Any foreign components in a substance, for example in water.

Non-point source pollution – pollution that comes from many places or sources that is not easily identified; pollution that results from water flow picking up trash, toxic chemicals, and other types of waste

Point Source pollution – pollution that can be traced to a specific source such as oil that spills from a pipeline

Pollutant – any substance or form of energy that can cause harm to the environment and make it unfit for use by organisms; any substance that can negatively affect an ecosystem

Stewardship – responsibility for conserving and restoring the Earth’s resources for future generations

Wastewater – water that runs into drains that may contain sewage and chemicals from homes and businesses or pollutants from industry

Food Chain and Food Webs

Omnivore- an organism that eats both plants and animals

Herbivore- an organism that eats only plants

Carnivore- an organism that eats only meat

Food web – two or more food chains that are interconnected

Food chain- a model that shows the flow of energy from one organism to another

Predator- an animal that hunts for food

Prey- an animal that is hunted for food

Producer – a plant that make its own food

Consumer- an organism that cannot make its own food and must eat to get energy

Sea- part of the ocean surrounded by mostly land

Salinity- the concentration of salt in the ocean

Wave –rhythmic movement of energy in the water caused by high winds

Tide- the rise and fall of the sea level

Upwelling- the upward movement of cold water from the ocean floor

El Nino- abnormal climate event that occurs every 2-7 years

Continental Shelf - the gradually sloping end of a continent that extends under the ocean

Continental Slope- the part of the ocean that extends from the outer edge of the continental shelf down to the ocean floor

Abyssal Plains -large, flat areas on the ocean floor

Seamounts -underwater volcanic mountains that rise more than 100 meters above the ocean floor

Guyots – flat topped seamounts

Trenches -the deepest parts of the ocean found along the edge of the ocean floor

Mid-ocean Ridge- the area in an ocean basin where new ocean floor is formed

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