Grade 8 Science NOTES

Unit 1: Water Systems on Earth

Chapter 1
Section 1.1:
Water Supply on Earth: 97% salt water and 3% fresh water (2% frozen as glaciers
at the Poles and only 1% available).

Water Cycle: the evaporation of water into a gas in the atmosphere and the
precipitation of water in the air as it falls back to Earth in the form of rain or
snow. The word “aquatic” means watery. The Sun’s energy drives the water cycle
through evaporation.

Where does the rainwater go?

Lithosphere: The solid rocky ground of the Earth’s crust. This layer runs
underneath the mountains and oceans.
Atmosphere: The air surrounding the planet.
Hydrosphere: All of the water on Earth including that in the atmosphere and
lithosphere. It includes water vapour, rain and snow in the atmosphere, oceans,
lakes, rivers and glaciers on the surface of the Earth and ground water in the
lithosphere.

Two changes of state make the water cycle possible:

Evaporation: The change of state in which a substance is transformed from a
liquid into a gas.
Condensation: The change of state in which a gas is transformed into a liquid.
Gaseous water vapour remains in the atmosphere until it cools and forms clouds.
Then the water is released from the clouds as liquid or solid water precipitation.

Hydrologist: A person who studies the Earth’s water systems and helps find
solutions to problems of water quality and quantity.
Oceanographer: A person who studies aspects of the ocean such as biology,
chemistry, geology, physics and mathematics of the ocean.
***Water Cycle Diagram (page 9, figure 1.4). Be able to draw and label.

How does the water cycle affect animals?

As freshwater rivers empties into the ocean it will lower the salt content. Certain
marine life will not be able to survive while there are others that thrive.
Also, when water flows over land and picks up or dissolves minerals, chemicals, etc
and empties this into the sea then those substances can be harmful or helpful to
organisms living there.

Salt water and penguins/humans:

Humans are unable to drink salt water. Drinking salt water would make a person
more thirsty than if they had no water at all. Salt water is so salty that our
kidneys are unable to process it properly. But penguins have an organ called the
supraorbital gland that collects and excretes the salt, keeping it out of their
bloodstream. The gland is located just above the penguin’s eye.

Section 1.2:
Ocean Water Fresh Water
Salinity More salt (~ 35 g/L) Less salt (~ 0 g/L)
More than 200 times saltier
Density More dense Less dense
Freezing Point Lower (-1.9 o C) Higher (0 o C)
Salinity: The amount of salt dissolved in a specific amount of water. Areas of
high salinity are: near the equator (evaporates more), the North and South poles
(freezing leaves salt behind) and the middle parts of the ocean (not diluted as
much from river runoff).
Freezing Point: The temperature at which a substance freezes or solidifies.
Density: The amount of mass in a certain volume or how tightly packed together
the material is in a substance. Example: Volleyball and a bowling ball on snow. The
bowling ball will sink because its density is greater than the snow (more mass in a
small volume) whereas the volleyball with sit on top of the snow.

Where does salt come from?

1.Salt is dissolved into the water as it travels over the land into the ocean.
2.Volcanoes on land and under water release large amounts of particles that can
combine to form sodium chloride or salt.

Section 1.3:
Sources of Fresh Water:
1.Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands: Lakes tend to be larger and deeper than ponds.
Wetlands are low areas of land that are saturated with water all or much of the
time. Marshes are shallow water wetlands.
2.Rivers and Streams: These are fast-flowing waterways.
3.Ground Water: Fresh water beneath the surface of the ground. It comes from
precipitation (rain, snow, etc) that falls and sinks into the ground. It flows under
the ground in pores until it reaches the bedrock. These pores can fill and be used
by people in wells to provide water for their homes or businesses.
4.Glaciers: A large moving mass of ice and snow. Almost two thirds of the world’s
fresh water is in the form of glaciers found in Greenland and Antarctica.
-When a glacier goes over the edge of a land mass towards the ocean it can break
off and form a big chunk of ice in the ocean called an iceberg.
-The deep cracks that form in the glaciers as a result of the glacier moving from
land to the ocean is called crevasses.
-The cryosphere is the part of the Earth’s surface where water is in its solid form.
-Glaciers are often referred to as fresh water storehouses that slow the passage
of water through the water cycle. They also provide information about the Earth’s
past climates because of the way ice accumulates and endures.
-Ice Age: Periods of cooling on Earth and at least 7 major ice ages on Earth.
-Global Warming: The increase in the average temperatures of the Earth’s oceans
and air near Earth’s surface. This is causing more glaciers to melt.

Drainage Basins or Watershed:

An area of land from which water drains into a certain body of water. Lakes,
ponds, rivers and oceans are drainage basins. All of the fresh water on Earth is a
part of a drainage basin. Canada has five major drainage basins (Pacific, Atlantic
and Arctic Oceans, Gulf of Mexico and the Hudson Bay).
-A divide is an area of very high ground that usually separates one drainage basin
from another.
-Continental Divide: the Rocky Mountains separate the Pacific drainage basin from
drainage basins to the east of the Rocky Mountains.

Run-off: Precipitation that falls to land and flows into creeks, streams and rivers
and eventually into the ocean. The water does not evaporate or soak into the
ground. Water will flow with gravity until it hits a low point on the surface or finds
its way to a stream.
Factors Affecting Run-off:
1. The nature of the ground material:
Rock = water not absorbed as much= more run-off
Soil= water is absorbed more= less run-off
2.Amount of rain: Heavy rain=saturated ground=more run-off
3.Length of time it rains: Long periods of rain= saturated ground=more run-off
4.The slope of the land: Steeper slope of land=faster moving water=less water
absorbed= more run-off
5.The amount of vegetation: Little vegetation = less water absorbed by trees,
grass and shrubs=more run-off
6.Amount of development in the area: Areas with more pavement/concrete=less
water absorbed=more run-off.
Mean discharge: The volume of water flowing from a river into an ocean.

Organisms (plants and animals) that exist in fresh water versus salt water
environments:
Fresh Water Salt Water

Effects of abiotic factors on plant and animal distributions in marine and

freshwater ecosystems:
1. Temperature: increased water temperature holds less oxygen
2. Dissolved Oxygen: Many organisms need oxygen dissolved in the water to
survive.
3. Phosphates: Enter the water systems from human or animal waste, laundry,
industries, etc. Marine life is negatively affected.
4. Increases Acidity: Many organisms cannot survive in environments with low
to high amounts of acid in the water
5. Turbidity: the cloudiness of the water. If the water is very turbid/cloudy
then it is difficult for light to penetrate and the ability of plants to carry
out photosynthesis is decreased.
6. Pollution: Organisms are sensitive to pollution.
7. Upwelling (marine): the vertical motion of water in the ocean, whereby
subsurface water of lower temperature and greater density moves toward
the surface of the ocean. This occurs near the western coastlines of
continents. This water contains lots of nutrients which support plant life
near the surface and in turn attract animal life.