What is an Aquifer?

What is an aquifer?

• A type of water filter used in homes

• An underground body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater

• An artificial water reservoir

• A surface water body like a lake or river

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

What are the two major types of aquifers?

• Unconfined and confined aquifers

• Natural and artificial aquifers

• Open and closed aquifers

• Saltwater and freshwater aquifers

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

What material is known to restrict or prevent the flow of groundwater?

• Sand

• Gravel

• Limestone

• Clay

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

How is water supplied to an unconfined aquifer?

• Through artificial recharge

• Through direct rainfall only

• By rivers and lakes

• It filters down from the land surface

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

What represents the upper surface of an unconfined aquifer?

• The bedrock

• The aquitard

• The water table

• The confining layer

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-5

How does water enter a confined aquifer?

• Only through artificial means

• In places where the aquifer materials crop out at the surface

• Through the overlying confining layer

• Directly from the surface

What can produce artesian wells?

• Unconfined aquifers under pressure

• Aquifers with high porosity

• Confined aquifers under pressure

• Surface water under pressure

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

What are the most common unconfined aquifers made of?

• Sandstone

• Limestone

• Sand and gravel

• Clay and shale

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

Where are sandstone aquifers commonly found?

• Underneath glaciers

• Only in Florida

• In western states, parts of the Midwest, and throughout the Appalachians

• In coastal regions

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1

What type of rock is typically not a good aquifer but can be if fractured?

• Sedimentary rocks

• Igneous and metamorphic rocks

• Sandstone

• Limestone

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-1