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Week
11: Water This week you should refer to the resources listed under Readings & References, and you need to complete the assignments listed under Assignments & Rubrics. This week’s assignments focus on…
Readings
& References Water is an important natural resource and is an extremely common substance that covers three-fourths of the earth's surface. It accounts for 60-70% of the weight of the living world. It is also the physical environment in which many plants and animals live. Water is something most people take for granted, but it is essential for life. A person will die much faster from a lack of water than from a lack of food. Some resources are limited and can be used up, like coal. Others, like water, are unlimited and are not "likely" to be used up. All of this water may seem to be an endless supply; however, 97% of all the earth's water is the salt water contained in the oceans. Of the remaining 3% of water, two-thirds is contained in glaciers and the polar ice caps. The remaining percentage of all of the earth's water--in ground and surface water combined--that is available for human consumption is less than 1% of all the water on the planet. As the world population and pollution increase, the fresh water quality lowers. Additionally, as the world population increases, an increase in the demand for fresh water reduces the 1% that is available for human consumption. Breakdown of the Earth's Fresh Water:
The earth's cryosphere has changed in size many times in the earth's past. Right now, most of the world's ice is far to the north or south of the planet. But in past times, even as recently as 12,000 years ago, the earth's climate was much colder, and huge sheets of ice covered much of North America and Europe in a great " Ice Age." Read: On your own, read about the following topics related to the study of water.
Some related National Science Education Standards and Project 2061 Benchmarks for Elementary Science Education
Recommended Web Sites:
Assignments
& Rubrics Week
B: Teacher As Scholar - Individual Week
B: Teacher As Scholar - Team
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Chris Kreger Privacy Statement and Copyright© 1997-2000 by Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA Classroom of the Future™. All rights reserved. |
Can
you imagine being high above the earth and floating free like an astronaut
aboard the Space Shuttle orbiting the planet? Looking out from your craft,
you view this spectacular blue and white sphere called Earth that serves
as home for you and all other life as people know it. It is the only body
in the solar system that appears to support life. Although the earth is
largely rock, most of what you see of the earth's surface is covered by
a relatively thin layer of water (some of it frozen).
Read:
Most of the ice on Earth is found near the poles as giant icecaps
in Greenland and Antarctica and as icebergs at sea. Ice is also found
as glaciers and snow in the mountains, and maybe in your neighborhood
in winter. Did you know that when you hold an ice cube in your hand,
you are holding a tiny part of the cryosphere? 
