The Freshwater Treasure
The Freshwater Treasure is a Grade 5 science skill from Amplify Science (California) introducing students to the scarcity of drinkable water on Earth. Freshwater makes up only a tiny fraction of all water on our planet; the vast majority is salt water in oceans. Because freshwater is so rare, it is a precious resource that every person, animal, and plant on land depends on to survive. Covered in Chapter 1 of the East Ferris water unit, this skill grounds students in the real-world stakes of water scarcity before investigating why some communities run short.
Key Concepts
The water that we can drink and use is called freshwater . However, freshwater makes up only a tiny slice of all the water on Earth.
Because it is so rare compared to salt water, freshwater is a precious resource . Every person, animal, and plant on land must share this very small supply to survive .
Common Questions
What percentage of Earth's water is freshwater?
Only about 2.5% of all water on Earth is freshwater. The rest is salt water found in oceans, which cannot be consumed directly by humans, animals, or most plants.
Why is freshwater considered a precious resource?
Because it is extremely rare compared to saltwater, yet every living thing on land depends on it to survive. Its scarcity makes conservation critical.
What is the difference between freshwater and salt water?
Freshwater has very low salt content and can be consumed by humans and land life. Salt water contains dissolved salts that make it undrinkable without treatment.
How does freshwater scarcity connect to the East Ferris story in Amplify Science Grade 5?
Chapter 1 asks why East Ferris is running out of water while West Ferris is not. Understanding that freshwater is globally limited provides context for investigating local water distribution problems.
What is the main reason freshwater is hard to access?
Most of Earth's freshwater is frozen in glaciers and ice caps in remote polar regions, leaving only a small portion available as surface water or groundwater.