Groundwater

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/groundwater

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the proportion of global freshwater?Groundwater constitutes approximately 30 percent of the world's readily available fresh water
2. What is the scientific field?The study of groundwater is known as hydrogeology or groundwater hydrology
3. What is groundwater and where does it live?Groundwater is water that lives below the Earth's surface in cracks, soil, and rock. It fills spaces in soil and rocks and can be found in aquifers.
4. How does water get into groundwater?Water from rain and melted snow falls to the ground and seeps down through soil and rocks. This process, called recharge, fills the underground water stores.

Hydrogeology: The scientific study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water within the Earth's crust.
Water Table: The upper level of the saturated zone of groundwater, below which all pore spaces are filled with water.
Aquifer: A subsurface layer of rock or sediment that holds and transmits groundwater in sufficient quantities to be useful.
Recharge: The process by which groundwater is replenished, typically from precipitation infiltrating the ground.