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=Water, Water, Everywhere!= The Three States of Water

= The Three States of Water =

Essential Question: What are the three states or forms of water?



 * Did you know that 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water?
 * Scientists estimate that there are 326 million trillion gallons of water on earth.
 * That's the number 326 followed by 18 zeroes. It looks like this: 326,000,000,000,000,000,000
 * This really large number is read in short word form as 326 quintillion.




 * Besides all of the water on and below the Earth's surface, there is water in the air.
 * On an average day, there is approximately 3,000 cubic miles of water in the atmosphere.
 * The amount of water in just one cubic mile is equal to the number 10 followed by 12 zeroes.
 * Multiply that by 3,000 and you get the number 30,000,000,000,000,000.
 * This awesome number is read in short word form as 30 quadrillion. That's how many gallons of water are in the sky.
 * Wow! That's a lot of water!! Is anyone thirsty yet?

What State Am I In?

 * All of the water on Earth exists in one of three states, or forms.
 * Those states are: liquid, solid, and gas.
 * Liquid water gathers in oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, puddles, sinks, and bath tubs.
 * Liquid water takes on the shape of whatever storage container it is put in, whether it's a stream or a drinking glass.




 * Water in its solid form is ice, frost or snow.
 * One form of precipitation, hail, also falls from the sky as a solid.




 * Water can also take the form of a gas.
 * In this state, it is called water vapor, or steam.

Take the short quiz below to check your understanding of this section.
media type="file" key="Introduction Quiz.swf" width="450" height="450"

Module 1: States of Water Introduction Module 2: Evaporation and Condensation Module 3: Precipitation Module 4: Freezing Module 5: Melting

Group members: Katie Adams, Scott Bishop, Shane Brazile