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Groundwater True/False Quiz: USGS Water Science School

Groundwater Quiz
How much do you know about the water below your feet?

If you are standing on the ground, it is a safe bet that you are also standing on water (more like, "over" water). Water exists in significant amounts below just about Earth's entire surface. Since you hardly ever see groundwater, it may not be a topic of conversation between you and your friends very often. But it can be! Just take this true/false quiz about groundwater and you will find that you can amaze your friends with little-known facts at the next party.

Groundwater True/False Quiz
True	False	(1) The water table is the altitude (below ground) where the water level in a well will rise to when the well taps a confined aquifer.
True	False	(2) Land subsidence occurs in areas underlain by highly-fractured granite, which is readily dissolved by moving groundwater, especially when the water is slightly acidic.
True	False	(3) Water can flow in streams even during periods of drought due to groundwater seeping into stream banks.
True	False	(4) Artificial recharge to an aquifer can occur when people inject water down into a well to force it back into an aquifer so they can withdraw it later.
True	False	(5) Big cities drill deep wells to tap naturally heated water because the heat kills bacteria and the water needs less treatment.
True	False	(6) Bottled water is often advertised as "artesian well water." Artesian water is groundwater that is naturally filtered by an aquifer composed of fine, porous material—this artesian water can be put directly into bottles.
True	False	(7) The porosity and permeability of an aquifer define its ability to yield water to wells in productive amounts.
True	False	(8) For some wells along the coastline that are drilled into porous aquifers, pumps are turned off twice a day (during periods of high tides), since tides temporarily raise saline groundwater levels, causing saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers.
True	False	(9) Cities prefer to use groundwater for drinking-water supplies because surface water is in constant contact with streambeds and, thus, contains a higher concentration of dissolved minerals and other substances that must be removed.
True	False	(10) Excessive pumping of a well can reverse the natural flow of groundwater into a river, causing the water level in the river to fall.
True	False	(11) Most wells are shallow because a significant amount of water cannot be obtained from wells where the underground water level is deeper than about 500 feet; it is impossible at the moment to pump water that deep in the earth to the land surface
True	False	(12) Most wells used for irrigation, domestic and public-supply water use tap large open areas in subsurface rocks—including horizontal fissures, caverns, and lava tubes, which have connections to the land surface—thus allowing the aquifer to be recharged quickly by precipitation.
True	False	(13) A cone of depression occurs when you drop your scoop of ice cream (made with groundwater) on the ground on a hot summer day.

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Water Science Activity Center

Groundwater True/False Quiz: USGS Water Science School

Groundwater Quiz How much do you know about the water below your feet?

Groundwater Quiz
How much do you know about the water below your feet?