Groundwater and fresh water supplies

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   A classmate says groundwater flows in big underground rivers. Which reply fits USGS, by Esme's reading?

   • No; groundwater sits above the water table
   • Mostly a myth; groundwater fills pores and cracks in rock
   • Correct; most groundwater flows in rivers below the ground
   • Correct; underground lakes lie under each town
2. 2.

   Recharge in, pumping out. A student says pumping cannot lower the water table because rain refills it. Which reply fits USGS, by Jun's reading?

   • No; pumping faster than recharge lowers it, sometimes for decades
   • Correct; recharge matches pumping in each place
   • No; pumping raises the water table
   • Correct; aquifers refill within days
3. 3.

   A student says rock with lots of pore space must make a good aquifer. Which reply fits USGS, by Kira's reading?

   • Correct; permeability does not matter to an aquifer's yield
   • Not necessarily; the pores must connect so water can move
   • Correct; porosity by itself decides
   • No; aquifers need zero pore space

4. Read this first

   Use this

   Table, Where is Earth's water? (USGS), with columns Store, Percent of total water, Percent of freshwater: oceans, seas and bays, 96.54%, not fresh; ice caps, glaciers and permanent snow, 1.74%, 68.7%; fresh groundwater, 0.76%, 30.1%; fresh lakes, 0.007%, 0.26%; rivers, 0.0002%, 0.006%.

5. 4.

   Picture Earth's water as 1,000 L. Rivers hold about 0.0002% of all water (USGS). About how much is that, by Milo's math?

   • About 2 mL
   • About 200 mL
   • About 0.2 L
   • About 2 L
6. 5.

   Recharge in, pumping out. A well field pumps 5 million m³ a year from an aquifer recharged with 3 million m³ a year (model data). How much stored water is lost in 20 years, by Noah's math?

   • About 40 million m³
   • About 100 million m³
   • About 160 million m³
   • About 2 million m³
7. 6.

   Four evidence cards, labeled A to D. Which evidence best shows an aquifer is being drawn down too fast, by Pia's reading (USGS)?

   • Clay layers deep below
   • Water levels in wells falling year after year
   • A spring that keeps flowing steadily through the dry months
   • Wet ground after a rain
8. 7.

   USGS: pumping near Houston lowered water levels about 400 feet, and the land surface sank by up to 10 feet. What link do these data show, by Ren's reading?

   • Pumping water out makes the land surface rise upward
   • Sinking land refills the aquifer
   • Removing groundwater can let the land surface sink
   • The two changes are unrelated
9. 8.

   A town can drill into sand or into dense granite, each 30 m down (model data). Which is the better plan, by Tala's reading (USGS)?

   • The granite, since harder rock is able to hold more water
   • The sand, since dense granite yields little water
   • Either one, since depth decides the yield
   • Neither, since groundwater flows in rivers

10. Use this

    Table, Where is Earth's water? (USGS), with columns Store, Percent of total water, Percent of freshwater: oceans, seas and bays, 96.54%, not fresh; ice caps, glaciers and permanent snow, 1.74%, 68.7%; fresh groundwater, 0.76%, 30.1%; fresh lakes, 0.007%, 0.26%; rivers, 0.0002%, 0.006%.

11. 9.

    Which summary of Earth's water fits USGS, by Ari's reading?

    • About 25% fresh; most of it in rivers
    • About 97% fresh; little of it in the oceans
    • About 2.5% fresh; most of it in lakes
    • About 2.5% fresh; of that, about 69% ice and 30% groundwater
12. 10.

    Recharge in, pumping out. Which summary of pumping fits USGS, by Bo's reading?

    • Pumping raises the water table over time
    • Recharge refills each aquifer at once
    • Pumping affects nothing beyond the well's own pipe
    • Pumping faster than recharge lowers the water table; wells can go dry