Unit 5: Hydrosphere Study Guide
1.) __Suspended______ load consist of teeny, tine sediment particles.
2.) __Rainwater___________ is a weak acid due to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
3.) Water is the only substance on __Earth _______ that is present in all three states of mater – solid,
liquid, or gas.
4.) Streams usually __begin _________ with water from snow melt and possibly springs.
5.) The Great Lakes are so ____large_________ they can alter the weather.
6.) A tributary is the __smaller__________ of two streams that join together.
7.) A good __aquifer_________ has rock in it that is porous and permeable.
8.) A wave is a transfer of __energy _________, that initially begins with __wind___________.
9.) The first sign that a _tsunami__________ is coming could be that water moves out to sea, leaving the
shore exposed.
10.) Waves _continually ______ move sand along the shore.
11.) Stream water erodes and __deposits______________.
12.) A stream overflows its banks onto its ___flood plain_________________.
13.) Flooding can wipe out farms and even towns when the farms and towns are placed on a __flood
plain___________________.
14.) As a stream exits a canyon into open land, the sediments form a(n)
___alluvial_____________________ fan.
15.) A stream’s competence is ____highest______________ when it has a ____steep____________
gradient and faster velocity.
16.) If a stream’s ___competence____________________ increases, it is likely that the amount of water in
the stream has increased and/or the stream’s gradient has increased.
17.) Tiny particles in a stream that can be carried in solution are known as __dissolved____________ load.
18.) In a _meander________________, the stream __deposits_______________ at the inside of the bend,
and ____erodes_____________ at the outside of the bend.
19.) A __sinkhole__________________________ forms when the roof of a limestone cave collapses and
fills with water.
20.) A river erodes most deeply when it is ____farthest__________________ farthest from its base level.
21.) _Water_______________ is stored in ice, snow, the atmosphere, lakes and streams.
22.) __Transpiration_____________ is not a major part of the hydrological cycle.
23.) The largest amount of __freshwater________________________ is contained in ice caps, glaciers, and
inland seas.
24.) The water cycle has __no__________ beginning and has ___no_______ end.
25.) The energy for the water cycle comes from the __Sun_____________.
26.) The ocean is salty because only water ___evaporates___________.
27.) In the process of ___transpiration_________________________, water goes from the soil to the
atmosphere through a ___plant________________.
28.) If the climate warms and glaciers melt, sea levels will rise. This means that there is a
___constant________________ amount of water on Earth.
29.) Two streams meet at a point called a ___confulence_____________________.
30.) Most __lakes_________ formed by glaciers.
31.) ___Lakes_______________ can be seasonal, or can disappear over time.
32.) _Estuaries_______________________ have a high biodiversity because they have a large diversity of
___salt_________ content.
33.) A __levee_________________ on a river bank may increase flood waters upstream or downstream
from the ____levee____________________.
34.) __Subsidence____________________ happens when the water table is lowered.
35.) The way water moves through soil particles is called ____capillary____________________ action.
36.) Below ground, the water table roughly follows the __slope_____________ of the land surface.
37.) For the water in a groundwater aquifer to stay at the same level ___recharge_____________ must be
equal to ______discharge______________.
38.) Underground water that is not part of a large water body is a(n) ___Aquidclude________________.
39.) _Groundwater______________ is a renewable resource that is often used in a non-renewable way.
40.) Overpumping groundwater can result in _saltwater_________________________ incursion (intrusion).
41.) The most common minerals in seawater are ________sodium chloride________________________.
42.) ___Salt____________ in the oceans comes from river inflow.
43.) The Earth’s ___rotation____________________ causes the Coriolis effect.
44.) Water density _decreases_________________ as salinity increases, temperature decreases, pressure
_____decreases________________.
45.) The deepest point in the ocean is a(n) _submarine_________________________ trench.
46.) The primary cause of the tides is the ___Moon’s_________________ gravity.
47.) Wave energy is the greatest at the ____surface_______________________.
48.) A wave breaks because the base has _friction___________________ with the bottom, it becomes to
_____tall______ to be supported by its base, it reaches the _____shore________.
49.) __Surface________________ currents are created by ___local______________ wind patterns.
50.) Wave energy is __greatest_____________________ at the surface and ___decreases____________
with depth.
51.) The highest high and the lowest low tides occur when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are
__aligned___________________.
52.) _Thermohaline________________________________ circulation is due to density differences in water
masses.
53.) __Upwelling______________ along the equator brings nutrients to the surface so there is a lot of life.
54.) ROV means ___Remotely Operated Vehicle _______.
55.) _Bottom_____________________ trawling is a fishing method that involves a net that scrapes the
ocean floor.
56.) _____Resources_____________________ in the oceans are both living and non-living.
57.) A wave is ___energy__________________ that passes through a material.
58.) ___Beaches___________________ are formed when waves deposit
__sediments______________________ along the coast.
59.) _____Erosion_________________ from waves produces cliffs, sea stacks, and arches.
60.) A structure made of sand and is connected to the land extending into the water is a
___spit__________.