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What are some of the physical and chemical properties of water?Ground-Water Quiz
How much do you know about the water below your feet?

If you are standing on the ground, it is a safe bet that you are also standing on water (more like, "over" water). Water exists in significant amounts below just about all of the Earth's surface. The water in your ice tea may be out of the ground; ground water might have made it possible to grow that artichoke you had for dinner last night (and provided water for the cow that produced the butter that you dipped your artichoke into); and ground water may have been used to put out that fire you started in your parent's back yard when you were a kid.

But, since you hardly ever see ground water, it may not be a topic of conversation between you and your friends very often. But it can be! Just take this true/false quiz about ground water and you will find that you can amaze your friends with little-known facts at the next party.

True   False   (1) The water table is the altitude (below ground) where the water level in a well will rise to when the well taps a confined aquifer.
True   False   (2) If you ate canned corn last night, there is a good chance that it was irrigated with ground water.
True   False   (3) Land subsidence occurs in areas underlain by highly-fractured granite, which is readily dissolved by moving ground water, especially when the water is slightly acidic.
True   False   (4) Water can flow in streams even during periods of drought due to ground water seeping into the streambanks.
True   False   (5) Artificial recharge to an aquifer can occur when people inject water down into a well to force it back into an aquifer so they can withdraw it later.
True   False   (6) Big cities drill deep wells to tap naturally heated water because the heat kills bacteria and the water needs less treatment.
True   False   (7) Bottled water often is advertised as "artesian well water." Artesian water is ground water that is naturally filtered by an aquifer composed of fine, porous material—this artesian water can be put directly into bottles.
True   False   (8) The heaviest users of ground water for drinking water and other public uses are the Southwest desert States, where surface water is scarce.
True   False   (9) The porosity and permeability of an aquifer define its ability to yield water to wells in productive amounts.
True   False   (10) For some wells along the coastline that are drilled into porous aquifers, pumps are turned off twice a day (during periods of high tides), since tides temporarily raise saline ground-water levels, causing saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers.
True   False   (11) Cities prefer to use ground water for drinking-water supplies because surface water is in constant contact with streambeds and, thus, contains a higher concentration of dissolved minerals and other substances that must be removed.
True   False   (12) Excessive pumping of a well can reverse the natural flow of ground water into a river, causing the water level in the river to fall.
True   False   (13) Most wells are shallow because a significant amount of water cannot be obtained from wells deeper than about 1,000 feet. This is because it is difficult for pumps to overcome the force of gravity and push water up to the land surface.
True   False   (14) The most productive wells tap large open areas in subsurface rocks, including horizontal fissures, caverns, and lava tubes, which have connections to the land surface, thus allowing the aquifer to be quickly recharged by precipitation.
True   False   (15) A cone of depression occurs when you drop your scoop of ice cream (made with ground water) on the ground on a hot summer day.

Finished? You can


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Page Last Modified: Friday, 07-Nov-2008 15:51:05 EST