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?
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.