Less than _____ percent of the water on Earth is readily available for use.
3
10
1
2
70
3
Select 3 that apply.
Select three uses of fresh water:
A)Plants need water to consume other organisms.
B)Plants need water for the process of photosynthesis.
C)Animals and people need water to stay alive.
D)Power plants use large amounts of water in the production of electricity.
E)Animals use water to produce their own food.
B)Plants need water for the process of photosynthesis.
C)Animals and people need water to stay alive.
D)Power plants use large amounts of water in the production of electricity.
Less than 3 percent of the water on Earth is readily available for use. To arrive at this answer, we need to understand the concept of the Earth's water distribution.
The Earth's water is primarily divided into saltwater and freshwater. Approximately 97.5 percent of the Earth's water is saltwater, which is found in oceans and seas. This leaves us with only 2.5 percent of freshwater.
Out of this 2.5 percent freshwater, most of it is unavailable for human use as it is trapped in glaciers, polar ice caps, or deep underground. Only a small fraction of freshwater, about 0.3 percent, is found in accessible sources like rivers, lakes, and shallow groundwater.
Therefore, less than 3 percent of the total water on Earth is readily available for use by humans.