Lesson 1 Student Worksheet Name_______________________________________


Where is Water on Earth?

On your own, fill in the table below with your predictions about how water is distributed on Earth.  

Source

Rank

#1 (most abundant) to #6 (least abundant)

Prediction

% of Total Water on Earth


Materials:

Oceans/Seas




5 clear plastic 9 oz cups (labeled with water types)

Freshwater Lakes




100 mL graduated cylinder

Rivers




2-L bottle filled with water

Ice Caps & Glaciers




Calculator

Atmosphere





Groundwater






Explore:

In your group, you are now going to use a model to represent water distributions on Earth.

  1. The 2 liter bottle represents all the water on Earth, both fresh and saltwater.  Fill it with 2,000 mL of water.

  2. As a group, make decisions about how much water to take out of the bottle for each type of freshwater labeled on the cups.  What you leave in the 2 liter bottle will now represent the total saltwater on Earth.  

  3. Put your water amounts in the table below (column 1).  Then calculate the % (column 2).


Source

Amount of Water

(all numbers in this  column added together = 2000 mL)

Prediction:

% of Total Water on Earth

(Amount in 1st column/2000 x 100 = %)

Actual:


% of Total Water on Earth

Oceans




Freshwater Lakes




Rivers




Ice Caps & Glaciers




Atmosphere




Groundwater






Compare Your Data to Other Groups:

Before your teacher shows you the actual percentages for each water type on Earth, do a gallery walk to see the similarities and differences between your predictions and the other groups' predictions.  Describe a similarity and difference below:


Similarity


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Difference


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Your teacher will now give you the actual percentages.  Fill in the last column on the chart above.


Analyze the Data in the Table:

“Freshwater is limited across the Earth..”  What data in the table above would support this statement? _____________________________________________________________________________________

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Your Conclusion:

Based on today’s lesson, provide reasoning and evidence to support the following claim:


“It is important to care about our freshwater resources on Earth.”


One of your pieces of evidence should come from the actual data on freshwater above.


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