DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL (JOKA) SOUTH KOLKATA______________

Class: VI Prepared by: Sharmila Banerjee

Subject: Chemistry Study Material

CHAPTER: WATER(PART-1)
What is Water?
Water is precious, fundamental and the most essential substances required
for the existence of life on earth. Water is found naturally, abundantly on
our planet earth. About two-thirds of the total earth’s surface is covered
with water. It is a transparent, odourless and tasteless inorganic molecule
composed of hydrogen and oxygen.

Uses of Water
• It is needed for drinking, bathing, washing, cleaning of vessels,
toilets, flushing, etc.
• Our body contains about 70 per cent of water. Therefore, water is
essential for our life.
• Water helps animals and plants to cool.
• Water is essential for the germination of seeds.
• Water is required for irrigation of the crops.
• Water is used to generate electricity.
• Water wheel is used to run flour mills.
• Water is used in many industries, like paper, rayon, petroleum
refining, fertilizers, dyes, drugs and other chemical industries.
• Water is used in car radiators to keep the engine cool.
• In cold countries, people use water to warm their houses.
• Water is used to keep the things cool.

List of uses of water

Water is stored in various parts of the world but not evenly distributed all
over the earth. It is said to be a universal solvent. Various sources of water
are – sea, lake, rain, well, stream, borehole and pond. It is used for washing,
drinking, generating electricity etc. Below are the different uses of water in
various fields:

• Domestic uses of water

• Water use for agriculture
• Industrial uses of water

Domestic uses of water:

15 % of water is consumed for domestic purpose. Water is used for drinking,
bathing, cooking food and washing dishes, clothes, fruits, vegetables and
brushing teeth.

Water use for agriculture:

Agriculture is the largest consumer of water. About 70% of water is used for
irrigation. Water is necessary for gardening, farming and fisheries. Plants
require water to grow. During the process of photosynthesis, they consume
water. To yield crops, fruits, flowers, vegetables they need sufficient water,
manure, sunlight and oxygen.

Industrial uses of water:

It is either used in creating or to cool the equipment used for creating the
product. Industrial water is used for washing, cooling, processing,
transporting, diluting or fabricating of a product. The maximum amount of
water is used in the production of chemical, paper and food.
Other uses are – it is used in transportation, manufacturing, hydroelectric
power, removal of body wastes, tourism and recreation.

Sources of Water:

Rivers and springs: Most of the water which human beings use for
drinking, washing and farming comes from rivers and springs. The river
flows down the mountain side and across the land, finally flowing into a sea
or an ocean.
Springs

Oceans and seas: Most of the water on the earth is found in the oceans and
seas. However, the water found in the oceans and seas is not fit for drinking
or agricultural purposes as it contains large amount of salt. However, ocean
acts as a habitat for large number of plants and animals.

Snow: Some regions of the earth are covered with snow especially during
winters. Water formed by melting of snow is another source of water. This
snow melts slowly. Sometimes this water flows down in the form of streams
and rivers. Streams and rivers are another sources of water.

Groundwater: The ground water is actually rainwater which mainly comes

from seepage of water accumulated under the ground. Figure 14.3 shows
the accumulation of groundwater.

Water table: If you take soil from ground, it has air as well as water. As you
go down, the amount of water increases and air decreases. A level below
surface, where it is only water, is called the water table.
Lakes and ponds: These are small reservoirs of water. These are created by
Collection of rainwater in low lying areas. Seepage from the groundwater
reserves also adds to the water in lakes and ponds.

Rain: The rain is a very important source of water for us. All resources of
water are fed mainly by rains.

What is the Water Cycle?

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological
cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and
below the surface of the Earth.

During this process, water changes its state from one phase to another, but
the total number of water particles remains the same. In other words, if it
were possible to collect and boil 100 gms of water, it will still retain a mass of
100 gms as steam. Likewise, if 100 gms of steam is collected and condensed,
the resultant water would still weight 100 gms.
Water changes its state through a variety of processes from evaporation,
melting and freezing, to sublimation, condensation, and deposition. All these
changes require the application of energy.
Stages of Water Cycle
There are many processes involved in the movement of water. Listed below
are different stages of the water cycle.

1. Evaporation
The sun is the ultimate source of energy, and it powers most of the
evaporation that occurs on earth. Evaporation generally happens when
water molecules at the surface of water bodies become excited and rise into
the air. These molecules with the highest kinetic energy accumulate into
water vapour clouds. Evaporation usually takes place below the boiling
point of water. Another process called evapotranspiration occurs when
evaporation occurs through the leaves of plants. This process contributes to
a large percentage of water in the atmosphere.

2. Sublimation
Sublimation occurs when snow or ice changes directly into water vapour
without becoming water. It usually occurs as a result of dry winds and low
humidity. Sublimation can be observed on mountain peaks, where the air
pressure is quite low. The low air pressure helps to sublimate the snow into
water vapour as less energy is utilised in the process. Another example of
sublimation is the phase where fog bellows from dry ice. On earth, the
primary source of sublimation is from the ice sheets covering the poles of
the earth.

3. Condensation
The water vapour that accumulated in the atmosphere eventually cools
down due to the low temperatures found at high altitudes. These vapours
become tiny droplets of water and ice, eventually coming together to form
clouds.

4. Precipitation
Above 0 degrees centigrade, the vapours will condense into water droplets. However, it cannot
condense without dust or other impurities. Hence, water vapours attach itself on to the particle’s
surface. When enough droplets merge, it falls out of the clouds and on to the ground below. This
process is called precipitation (or rainfall). In particularly cold weather or extremely low air
pressure, the water droplets freeze and fall as snow or hail.

5. Infiltration
Rainwater gets absorbed into the ground through the process of infiltration. The level of
absorption varies based on the material the water has seeped into. For instance, rocks will retain
comparatively less water than soil. Groundwater can either follows streams or rivers. But
sometimes, it might just sink deeper, forming aquifers.
6. Runoff
If the water from rainfall does not form aquifers, it follows gravity, often flowing down the sides of
mountains and hills; eventually forming rivers. This process is called runoff. In colder regions,
icecaps form when the amount of snowfall is faster than the rate of evaporation or sublimation.
The biggest icecaps on earth are found at the poles.
All the steps mentioned above occur cyclically with neither a fixed beginning nor an end.

The flow of water towards the oceans

• Rainwater falls into rivers, lakes etc.
• The rain droplets fall into oceans, rivers, ponds, seas.
• Water from the rivers, lakes, ponds finally flow into the sea and ocean.

Implications of Water Cycle

• The water cycle has a tremendous impact on the climate. For instance, the greenhouse
effect will cause a rise in temperature. Without the evaporative cooling effect of the water
cycle, the temperature on earth would rise drastically.
• The water cycle is also an integral part of other biogeochemical cycles.
• Water cycle affects all life processes on earth.
• The water cycle is also known the clean the air. For instance, during the process of
precipitation, water vapours have to attach themselves on to particles of dust. In polluted
cities, the raindrops, apart from picking up dust, also pick up water-soluble gas and
pollutants as they fall from the clouds. Raindrops are also known to pick up biological
agents such as bacteria and industrial soot particles and smoke.

The complete process of the water cycle involves the following process.

1. Evaporation.
2. Condensation.
3. Precipitation.

1) Evaporation
Evaporation is the process of converting liquid or water into the gaseous form or vapour state.
2) Condensation
The process of converting vapour or gaseous form into its liquid form is called condensation.

Water collected on the surface of water bottle due to condensation

3) Precipitation
When more water gets condensed in clouds or condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere
results in precipitation. The precipitation can be in the form of rain, snow, hail.
 Natural Calamities
The conditions of flooding and drought are called natural calamities.
• Drought: If it does not rain for a year or more at a place, the soil will
lose its water by evaporation and becomes dry. Water will also be lost
through transpiration process from the plants. Rivers, ponds and
wells will dry and the water table would lower down. All this will affect
the humans, animals and wild plants. If it continues for one or two
years consecutively, it results into drought.
• Consequences of drought: The result of drought may be no crops.
The availability of food and fodder will decrease. The overall
consequence of such a situation will lead to loss of life of humans and
animals.
• Flood: In case of continuous rains, the water level of rivers, lakes and
ponds will rise. The soil surface will get laden with water resulting into
flood. Consequences of flood: When the soil gets too much of water, air
in the soil comes out of it. Due to lack of air, the animals living inside
the soil also come out of it. Heavy rainfall also results in the loss of
crops due to flood.
Factors responsible for flood: A number of factors are responsible for
flood. These factors can be intensity and duration of rainfall, soil
condition and presence of plants or trees on the ground.

• Excess v/s deficient rainfall

Intensity and duration of rain vary in different regions across the country.
While rainfall is very important for irrigation and the continuous availability
of water, excess rainfall can pose a number of problems. Due to excess
rainfall, the water level of rivers and oceans rises which can potentially spread
and submerge nearby cities and villages which poses a grave danger to both
life and property. These are known as floods.
 Figure 3 Floods posing danger to property and life
Similarly, deficient rainfall can also prove to be life-threatening. A lot of
farmers in India continue to depend on rainfall to irrigate their fields. In case
of deficient rain, soil and wells still continue to lose water through
transpiration and evaporation and if it doesn’t rain for a prolonged period,
fields can dry up because even the groundwater does not get replenished.
These are known as droughts.

Figure 4 Dried fields as a result of droughts

Conservation of water
There are a number of reasons why water conservation needs to be a priority
for everyone. Here are some of them:
• Mostly all water is in the oceans in saline form and can’t be used
directly
• While the total water on Earth does not change, but the water
available for us to use diminishes with overuse
• When the groundwater goes below drastically, it cannot be accessed
anymore
• Water is required in industries and for production of food
• The population growth is exponential but the water sources are only
depleting
• Since only a small percentage of water on our planet is usable, it is
very important that we use water carefully. Conservation of water can
be done by building dams, avoiding wastage of water at homes, both
indoors and outdoors, harvesting rainwater, and preventing pollution
of water.

• Building Dam
A dam is a structure built to hold back water in order to prevent
floods, and to provide water for irrigation and storage.
Building a dam is a solution to both drought and flood (Fig. 15.12).

Dams are also used in producing electricity. Built on rivers, a dam

has high walls and has many openings or gates to both let in and hold
back water.
 During heavy rainfall, when the rivers fill up, water enters the dam.
When water is needed later, the gates are opened to let out water.

Avoiding Wastage at Homes

Some ways to avoid wastage of water at homes are given below.

Rainwater Harvesting:
The process of collecting and storing rainwater from roofs or a surface
catchment is called rainwater harvesting (fig. 15.14). Storing rainwater that
collects on roofs instead of letting it go down the drain, is a practical
solution in case of droughts. This technique is known as rooftop rainwater
harvesting. This involves collecting rainwater from rooftops in dugout ponds,
vessels, or underground tanks to store water for long periods. Another
option is to allow water to go into the ground directly from the roadside
drains that collect rainwater. The stored rainwater is treated before use
because it may contain bird faeces, chemicals, and other pollutants, which
need to be removed before use.
Preventing Water Pollution:
Another method to conserve water is to safeguard our freshwater bodies
from pollution. Garbage and harmful chemicals pollute the water and make
it unfit for use. Polluted water (Fig. 15.15) is also very bad for aquatic life.
Plants and animals in and around polluted water may die or get infected.
And when human beings consume contaminated fish, etc., they are also put
at risk of diseases.