Salt water

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/salt-water

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 primary ions?Chloride (Cl-) and Sodium (Na+) constitute about 85% of dissolved salts
2. What is the average salinity?Approximately 35 parts per thousand (ppt) or 3.5% by mass
3. What makes seawater salty?Seawater is salty mainly because it contains about 85% sodium chloride, along with other ions like magnesium, sulfate, calcium, potassium, bromide, and bicarbonate.
4. Why do fish need special ways to handle salt?Because seawater pulls water out of their bodies, fish have special mechanisms to keep their fluids balanced and survive in a salty environment.

Osmoregulation: The physiological process by which organisms maintain water and solute balance in their internal fluids.
Hydrothermal Vents: Fissures on the seafloor that release geothermally heated water, rich in dissolved minerals.
Specific Heat Capacity: The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one unit of mass of a substance by one degree Celsius.