Water in Extreme Environments: Activity – Science S1

Water in Extreme Environments: Activity – Science S1 card front

Activity Timing

Introduction: 5 min
Water on Earth: 10 min
Dissolved Contaminants: 20 min
Habitability: 15 min
Wrap Up: 10 min

60 min. Total

Prep Corner

  • Read Science Series guide
  • Test video links
  • Print & copy Science Notebooks for each youth, p. 43
  • Slice a potato
  • Consider printing tables (pp. 26-29) & cards for 52, p. SO

Key Terms

Availability: is water present?

Accessibility: how easy is it to get?

Usability: is it clean enough for humans to use?

Habitability: can organisms live in the water?

Water in Extreme Environments FAQ's

Water in Extreme Environments Vocab List

S1 Purpose

Youth explore the concept of water availability, accessibility, and usability on earth.

Quick Tips

  • If you don't have a potato on hand, use an apple
  • Turn Earth's Water video into an activity: you'll need a gallon of water, measuring spoons, and cups labeled for each reservoir

Videos Related to This Activity

Science Snippet: Build your content knowledge to help answer youth's questions.

Science Reflection

Today we investigated how various factors can make earth's water reservoirs inaccessible or unusable for humans but other organisms can access and use water in ways humans cannot.

Key Take Away

Water is abundant on earth, however humans can access and use only a tiny fraction of the water. Other organisms can access and use water in ways that humans cannot.

Did you know?

Salt in the oceans comes from the land. Groundwater dissolves small amounts of salt in rocks, which rivers carry to the ocean. As water evaporates and leaves the salt, the salinity of the ocean increases.