Earth's h2o
by Anne Westbroek
Water's Worth
2/3 of our planet is water, but how much of that do we use?
Water on Earth
97% Salt Water
2% Frozen in polar ice caps, glacier, and snowfields
1% Fresh Water
Of the fresh water in liquid form on our planet, most of that is ground water. The rest is in lakes, river, and swamps.
Try This!
Materials:
- Map of world or globe
- 5-gallon water container
- Measuring cups
- Eye dropper
- 5 gallons of water
- Small, clear container
Procedure
- Look at the globe or map of the world. What does the blue represents? Water. What percentage is covered by water? 75% How much of that water is available for humans to use?
- Fill the 5 gallon container with water. This represents all the water on the earth.
- Where is most of the water on earth? Oceans. We will be taking out all the water that is from a source other than the ocean.
- Remove each amount on the chart below (except oceans) and place in clear container
- Oceans 97.2% All water left in bucket
- Icecaps/Glaciers 2.0% 1 Cup
- Groundwater 0.62% 1/3 Cup
- Freshwater Lakes 0.009% 1/8 teaspoon
- Inland Seas/Salt Lake 0.008% 1/8 teaspoon
- Atmosphere 0.001% One drop
- Rivers 0.0001% One flick
- How much of this water is available for humans to use?
- Replace all the water that humans cannot access: icecaps/glaciers, some of the groundwater, inland seas/salt lakes and the atmosphere.
- How much water is really left for us to use?
- How can you take care of the water we use?