The water cycle & freshwater

1. What do we call an underground layer of permeable rock, sand or gravel that holds groundwater: an aquifer or a canopy?

2. What energy source drives the global water cycle by warming ocean and land surfaces: the Sun or the Moon?

3. Where is the largest reservoir of water on Earth (about 97% of all Earth’s water) stored: in the oceans and seas, or in rivers?

4. When spring temperatures warm mountain snowpacks, the resulting liquid water flowing into streams is called: snowmelt runoff or condensation?

5. What do we call the release of water vapour into the air from plant leaves through their stomata: transpiration or condensation?

6. What do we call the entire land area that drains rainfall and snowmelt into a single river system: a watershed (drainage basin) or an atoll?

7. What stage of the water cycle occurs when liquid water at the ocean surface warms and turns into water vapour: evaporation or precipitation?

8. What role do trees play in a watershed during heavy rain: their canopy intercepts rain and roots help water infiltrate soil, or they block all evaporation?

9. What happens when moist air is forced to rise over a mountain range: it cools, condenses and drops rain on the windward side, or it warms and dries?

10. How does paving over grassy soil with impermeable concrete affect rainwater during a storm: it increases surface runoff, or it increases infiltration?

11. Does the water cycle create brand-new water or continuously recycle the same water molecules through different states?

12. What combined term describes the total water vapour transferred to the atmosphere from both soil evaporation and plant transpiration: evapotranspiration or precipitation?