Water, Water Everywhere (but nary a drop to drink!)

1. Water, Water Everywhere (but nary a drop to drink!) Unit 4: Sixth Grade

2. All living things need water to survive. • In fact, our planet’s water supply is the single most important reason why our planet can support life.

3. We depend on water to stay alive • Organisms are made of up cells, which are usually more than 75% water.

5. Over 70% of the Earth is covered in water • We should really call our planet “Ocean” instead of “Earth”. • Although that seems like more water than we would ever need for drinking, the reality is that very little of that water is fresh water that is available for consumption.

6. 97% of all water is in the ocean, which has a high salinity (saltiness) • Most organisms are adapted to life in salt water • There are methods to desalinate water, but they are expensive, time-consuming and pollute

7. 3% of water is fresh water • The majority of that water (69%) is locked up in polar ice caps and glaciers found mainly in Greenland and Antarctica

8. 3% of water is freshwater • The remaining water is found in rivers, streams, and most abundantly as ground water.

9. Groundwater • No matter where you are standing, chances are, at some depth, the ground below you is saturated with groundwater.

10. The rest of the freshwater • Of all the freshwater on Earth, only 0.3% is found in lakes and rivers – yet lakes and rivers are not only the water that we are most familiar with, it is also where most of the water we use in our everyday lives exists