Activity 2.1.

1 Global Water Distribution

Introduction
Earth might be best called the water planet, as water covers roughly seven-tenths of
the Earths surface. Given there is so much available water, how much of this do you
think is readily accessible and suitable for human consumption? Surprisingly, the
answer is very little. In fact, not having sufficient clean drinking water is a major
issue in many parts of the world, including both the developing and industrialized
nations.
Many humans value Earths rivers and lakes as recreational opportunities; however,
nearly every living thing relies on them for survival. Free-flowing rivers provide
several necessities. They're an important source of drinking water and irrigation for
crops. They carry sediments that help create coastal wetland features such as
marshes that provide habitats for many animals and plants. Clean, flowing rivers
provide dissolved oxygen in the water that aquatic life and fish need to breath.
Pollution poses the largest threat to fresh water systems. Pesticides in agricultural
runoff unintentionally kill fresh water organisms, and raw sewage from municipal
sources spreads disease to people and animals that rely on the water. Protecting
rivers from pollution, however, isn't the only challenge to be met. Even though the
Earth's supply of fresh water is continually being renewed through the water cycle, it
is still in short supply in many places. Finding ways to conserve this precious
resource is of utmost importance.
In this activity you will use scientific estimates of the different types of water on Earth
to first calculate the relative amounts of each type of water as a percentage of all
water. You will represent the relative amounts of all of Earths water using an 18 liter
model. You will use a variety of laboratory measuring equipment to precisely
measure each type of water for this scaled down model in order to physically
determine the amount of freshwater that is available for human use compared to
total water sources.
Through this activity you will also learn to select appropriate volumetric measuring
equipment and develop skills for accurately and precisely measuring volume with
each type of measuring device.

Equipment

2 - 5 gallon buckets
18 liters of water
1 - 1 L beaker
Graduated cylinders of various sizes (10 mL, 50 mL, 100 mL, 250 mL, 500
mL, 1000 mL)
1 - Transfer pipette (1.0 mL with 0.1 mL graduations)
Calculators or computer with Excel or other spreadsheet software

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Procedure
1. NA
2. Look at all of the different sources of water shown on Table 1 below. Place a
checkmark in the last column next to what you think are the three most
common sources of human drinking water.
3. Calculate Percentages and Proportions - These calculations can be done
using a calculator and the chart on the next page or using the Excel
spreadsheet 2.2.1.A Global Water Distribution Excel.xlsx.
A. Using the data for each type and amount of water on Earth,
calculate the total water percentage of each type of water source
and record your calculations in Table 1.
B. Calculate the percentage of each freshwater (non-saline) source
compared to the total fresh water and record your calculations.
C. For the scaled-down water model in which 18.00 liters (L) of water
represents all of Earths water, calculate the proportional volume in
milliliters (mL) for each type of water. Record these values in Table
1. Check to make sure that the sum of all these proportional
calculations equals 18.00 L.
D. Total the amount of water available for human consumption in the
18 L scale model and record this figure in your engineering
notebook.
4. Select Measuring Equipment
A. Research the internet on how to read liquid volumes using
laboratory equipment.
B. Look at the volumes of water to be measured in 18 L scale model
and determine which type of laboratory measuring tool, from the list
of equipment available, should be used to most accurately and
precisely measure that volume. Record your choice and reasoning
in Table 1.
5. NA

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Table 1: Global Distribution of Water

Water Source

Water Volume (km3)

Total Water
(%)

Fresh Water
(%)

18 L Scale Model
Proportional Volume
(mL)

Best Instrument for

Measuring Volume

if Common
Source for Human
Consumption

Saline Water
Oceans, Seas, and Bays
Groundwater: Saline
Lakes: Saline
Total Saline Water

1,338,000,000
12,870,000
85,400
1,350,955,400

Freshwater
Ice caps, Glaciers, and Permanent Snow
Soil Moisture
Ground Ice and Permafrost

24,064,000
16,500
300,000

Atmosphere

12,900

Swamp Water

11,470

Biological Water
Groundwater: Fresh
Rivers

1,120
10,530,000
2,120

Lakes: Fresh
Total Fresh Water
Total Global Water

91,000
35,029,110
1,385,984,510

Data Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh
Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New York). http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/earthhowmuch.html

6. Measure Water Volumes for the 18 L Scale Model

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A. Using one of the buckets provided, send rotating group members to collect and document water volumes
representing two (2) saline sources and five (5) fresh sources. Use the most appropriate measuring
device for each job and document by taking a photo.
B. Make sure that you take turns using the bucket of water. Once you have measured your sample (be as
accurate and precise as you can!), take a photo to document your work, and dump the water back into
the bucket. You will upload these photos to your digital portfolio
7. Use your Excel Spreadsheet data to create a chart to demonstrate the distribution of the Earths water. Upload your
spreadsheet and answers to the following questions to your portfolio.
Table

Conclusion
1 Explain why there might be differences between the calculated volume and the actual measured volume. What are
the potential sources of error in this activity? What could be done to minimize errors?
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There might be differences between the calculated volume and the actual measured volume because of human
error through estimation. Estimation is a potential source of error in this activity because the human eye is not
perfect at visual judgment. Using a tool that would give out only the exact amount of water would minimize this
error.
2 Explain how you chose the correct volumetric measuring instrument, such as a beaker, a graduated cylinder, a
pipette, or a micropipette.
To choose the correct volumetric measuring instrument, I looked at the needed mL in the excel table, and
determined which beaker or pipette to use that would get closest to the actual volume. For example, I used the 600
mL beaker and filled it with 300 mL, the 40 mL beaker and filled it with 10 mL, and the graduated cylinder with 2 mL
to get 312 mL representing ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow.
8. How did your choice of different volumetric measuring instruments potentially affect the accuracy and/or precision?
When I chose the volumetric measuring instruments to get closest to the actual volume needed, I looked at how
much mL each could hold. I used the 600 mL beaker to deal with volumes in the hundreds, the 40 mL beaker to
deal with volumes in the tens, and the graduated cylinder and pipette to deal with volumes in the ones.
9. Considering the percentage of usable fresh water, what should we be concerned about when we use water?
We should be concerned about the amount of water we consume, taking the percentage of usable freshwater into
consideration. If we consume much more water than we really need, we can lose our freshwater reservoirs fast.
10. Describe at least three other factors that might make availability of fresh water for human consumption a challenge
in different parts of the world.
Three other factors that might make availability of fresh water for human consumption a challenge include distance
from the freshwater reservoir, availability of the kind of technology needed to collect freshwater (ex. tanks), and
availability of transportation of freshwater (trucks).
Pictures below:

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(Ground water: saline)

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