Hydrosphere Quiz: Acid Rain and Water Properties

Hydrosphere 1

• Acid Rain: Acidic gases (sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) released into the atmosphere dissolve in rainwater, forming acid rain. This harms plant life, pollutes water bodies, and erodes stonework.

• Red Tide: Harmful algal blooms, caused by rapid growth of dinoflagellates, that turn water red or brown. This is toxic to marine life, harming fish and making some seafood unsafe to consume.

Properties of Water

• Cohesion: Water molecules attract each other, creating surface tension and allowing water to support objects.

• Adhesion: Water molecules attract other substances, like glass, soil, plant tissues, and cotton, allowing capillary action to occur.

• High Specific Heat: Water resists changes in temperature. It takes a significant amount of heat to raise or lower its temperature by 1°C.

• High Heat of Vaporization: Water absorbs a large amount of heat when evaporating, having a significant cooling effect. The vapor also helps maintain global temperature.

Hydrosphere 2

• Cloud Formation: Water heats up, boils, and turns into moisture. This moisture rises into the atmosphere and forms clouds.

• Water Cycle: Water continually cycles through the atmosphere, ocean, and land. It is driven by energy from the sun. Key stages include evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

• Evaporation: Sun heats up liquid water and turns it into gas (water vapor). Water evaporates from oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist soil rising into the atmosphere. Transpiration is evaporation from plants.

• Condensation: Water vapor cools down and turns back into liquid water, forming clouds. Large amounts of water vapor condense to form clouds.

• Precipitation: Water in clouds gets too heavy, falling back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet or hail.

• Runoff: Rainwater or melted snow collects in rivers, streams, and oceans. Some water is absorbed into the ground creating groundwater pockets. Most groundwater eventually makes its way back to the ocean. Other precipitation drains directly into streams or rivers.

• Water & Climate Change: Climate change impacts water availability, timing, and distribution. Extreme weather events like droughts and heavy rainfall can affect water resources.

Hydrosphere 3

• Limnology: The study of freshwater bodies (lakes, ponds, rivers, streams) and the organisms that live there.

• Zones of Freshwater: Freshwater ecosystems have zones with varying light, depth, and plant life. Littoral zones are shallow near shore areas. Photic zone includes open water areas with light penetration. Aphotic zones are where light does not reach.

• Top 10 Longest Rivers (Top 3 needed): A table of the rivers ordered by length, and their flow rate. (Note: Specific river names and data needed)

• Floods: Natural events where a usually dry area is submerged by water. Common types include river, flash, man-made, coastal, urban, and pluvial floods.

Groundwater

• Porosity: Total amount of empty space in rock.

• Permeability: Ability of the rock to allow water to pass through it.

• Groundwater Profile: Layers of rock have varying water saturation levels.

• Springs: Natural points where groundwater merges with the Earth's surface. Some hot springs, used as natural hot tubs, are considered therapeutic and spiritually significant by some.

• Geysers: Heated groundwater trapped in narrow spaces, builds pressure and erupts periodically.

• Wells: Artificial structures dug or drilled to reach groundwater resources below the water table. Artesian wells reduce pressure to bring groundwater to the surface, while regular wells require pumping. Both serve human water needs.

Water Cycle, Reservoirs, and More

• Water table & Aquifers: Boundary between saturated and unsaturated ground. Pockets of water below the water table are aquifers.
• Freshwater Reservoirs: Glaciers are the largest freshwater reservoirs. Reservoirs are man-made lakes, used for water storage and often constructed in river valleys. Residence time is the amount of time water stays in a specific location.
• Desalination: Removing mineral salts from water, often applied to seawater. This process creates freshwater from saline sources. Water-sheds collect runoff water from a particular geographic area.
• Watersheds: Surface areas where rainfall drains through a common point. This is synonymous with a drainage basin or catchment area.
• Salinity: Total amount of dissolved salt in water. It's measured in grams of salt per kilogram of water.
• Thermohaline Circulation: Deep ocean currents driven by differences in water density, influenced by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline).
• Coriolis Effect: Earth's rotation affects the movement of storms and other large-scale weather patterns. It makes storms swirl clockwise in the S. Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the N. Hemisphere.
• Upwelling: Deep, cold water rises to the surface, rich in nutrients. This happens often along coasts when winds blow.
• Tides: Long-period waves due to gravitational forces from the Moon and the Sun, causing the rise and fall of sea levels. Tides have different characteristics during different celestial alignments

Water Forms (Translation from English to Filipino)

• Terms for various bodies of water & other water-related features.

Test your knowledge on the hydrosphere concepts including acid rain and the unique properties of water. Explore how acid rain affects the environment and understand key characteristics such as cohesion and adhesion. This quiz is essential for anyone studying environmental science or related fields.