Water and Your World

Water and Your World 2 3 Fresh clean water is essential for life, yet it is one of our most endangered resources. While the majority of the earth is covered by water, it is mostly salty and undrinkable ocean water. Only about 3% of all the planet’s water is fresh water. Most of this is frozen in glaciers, so it’s not possible for us to use it. That leaves less than 1% of all water on earth available for drinking and other activities. You may know you can’t survive long without drinking water, but have you ever stopped to think about how many other ways you use water in your daily life? List all the ways you can think of that your family uses or enjoys water. Indoors Outdoors/For Fun The Water Cycle Water constantly moves and recycles itself. That means that all the water molecules on earth and in our atmosphere today are the same ones that existed when the dinosaurs roamed the earth! Here’s how it works: 1. Heat from the sun causes water in the oceans and other large bodies of water to rise into the air (evaporation) in a gas form called vapor. 2. Water from plants evaporates into the air as well, through the process of transpiration. 3. The vapor cools off and forms clouds, and then changes back into a liquid (through condensation). 4. The liquid falls to earth as rain, snow, or hail (precipitation). 5. Some precipitation remains frozen in glaciers or ice caps for thousands of years. But most precipitation becomes runoff. Runoff either travels over the ground’s surface and soaks into the earth (percolates), or finds its way to fill lakes, rivers, wetlands, and eventually, oceans. 6. Water evaporates again, and the cycle continues. Water is a Scarce and Vital Resource Water in Your Life The Three States of Water Water moves between three forms: solid (frozen and hard), liquid (the form we most often use), and gas (steam or vapor). Label the illustration with the words in green (above). Water makes up 83% of our blood, 70% of our brain, and 90% of our lungs. Overall, our bodies are about 60% water! Get Water Wise Water Words Find the definitions for the following water vocabulary words in this book. These and other new water words are highlighted in green. aquifers condensation evaporation groundwater percolates pollutants precipitation reservoirs runoff surface water transpiration watershed © 2017 Culver Media, LLC 800-428-5837 Product #37130 Run #5017 January 2017 Printed by Quad/Graphics, Waseca, MN