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
   • Correct; underground lakes lie under each town
   • Correct; most groundwater flows in rivers below the ground
   • Mostly a myth; groundwater fills pores and cracks in rock
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?

   • Correct; recharge matches pumping in each place
   • No; pumping faster than recharge lowers it, sometimes for decades
   • Correct; aquifers refill within days
   • No; pumping raises the water table
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
   • Correct; porosity by itself decides
   • Not necessarily; the pores must connect so water can move
   • 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. About 2.5% is fresh, and 30.1% of that is groundwater (USGS). About how many liters are fresh groundwater, by Luz's math?

   • About 7.5 L
   • About 25 L
   • About 0.75 L
   • About 301 L
6. 5.

   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 L
   • About 200 mL
   • About 0.2 L
   • About 2 mL
7. 6.

   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 160 million m³
   • About 100 million m³
   • About 40 million m³
   • About 2 million m³
8. 7.

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

   • Wet ground after a rain
   • A spring that keeps flowing steadily through the dry months
   • Clay layers deep below
   • Water levels in wells falling year after year
9. 8.

   Which summary of groundwater fits USGS, by Zee's reading?

   • Water fills the zone above the water table
   • Water fills pores below the water table and flows to wells and springs
   • Water sits in sealed caverns that cannot refill
   • Water flows in wide underground rivers that run beneath the cities and towns

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

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

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