Where Earth's Water Is
Aligned to 5-ESS2-2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Almost all of Earth's water is salty ocean water. Only a small part is fresh water, and most of that fresh water is frozen in glaciers, so very little is liquid fresh water we can easily use.
Worked examples
Example 1
If all of Earth's water filled 100 cups, about 97 cups would be salty ocean and only about 3 would be fresh — and most of those 3 are frozen ice. Just a tiny splash is liquid fresh water in lakes and rivers.
Example 2
Groundwater — water soaked into rock and soil underground — holds far more fresh water than every lake and river combined.
Example 3
The same water keeps cycling. The water in your glass may have been in a cloud last month and in a dinosaur's drink long before that.
Practice questions
- Make a table showing how much of Earth's water is ocean, ice, and liquid fresh water.
- Draw a bar graph comparing salt water and fresh water amounts.
- Use your graph to explain why fresh drinking water is precious.
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Dónde Está el Agua de la Tierra
Casi toda el agua de la Tierra es agua salada del océano. Solo una pequeña parte es agua dulce, y la mayoría de esa agua dulce está congelada en glaciares, así que muy poca es agua dulce líquida que podamos usar con facilidad.
Ejemplo 1: Si toda el agua de la Tierra llenara 100 vasos, unos 97 vasos serían océano salado y solo unos 3 serían dulces — y la mayoría de esos 3 están congelados como hielo. Apenas una gotita es agua dulce líquida en lagos y ríos.
Ejemplo 2: El agua subterránea — la que se filtra en la roca y el suelo — contiene mucha más agua dulce que todos los lagos y ríos juntos.
Ejemplo 3: La misma agua sigue circulando. El agua de tu vaso pudo estar en una nube el mes pasado y en la bebida de un dinosaurio mucho antes.
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