Grade 8 · Science · Unit 7 of 9
Changes to Our Water
Watersheds, droughts, floods and what people change
What your child practises
Watersheds, the water cycle, groundwater and wetlands, droughts and floods in Saskatchewan, and the ways natural events and human actions (dams, drainage, irrigation, pavement) change where water goes.
Saskatchewan Curriculum outcome: WS8.1 · natural and human-induced changes to the characteristics and distribution of water: watersheds, the water cycle, drought and flooding
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
What is a prairie pothole?
🦆- a type of lake in the north
- a hole in a road
- a small, shallow wetland left by glaciers
- a mine
Show answer
a small, shallow wetland left by glaciers
Hint: Potholes hold snowmelt and rain and are important to ducks and other wildlife.
Question 2
Why does a drought on the prairies affect people far from farms?
🛒- rain moves to cities
- drought stops the Sun
- it makes rivers longer
- less crop and less water affects food prices and supplies
Show answer
less crop and less water affects food prices and supplies
Hint: Water shortages spread through the economy.
Question 3
A farmer builds a dugout to catch spring runoff. What is it for?
🐄- to grow wheat in the water
- to store water for animals or crops
- to cause a drought
- to stop snowfall
Show answer
to store water for animals or crops
Hint: A dugout is a pond dug in the ground.
Question 4
Put these in order along the path of water from the land to Hudson Bay.
- 🌊The South Saskatchewan River carries it
- 🌧️Rain and snowmelt run off the prairie
- 🌐It reaches Hudson Bay
- 🏞️Small creeks collect the water
- 🛶It flows into the Saskatchewan River and Lake Winnipeg
Show answer
Rain and snowmelt run off the prairie → Small creeks collect the water → The South Saskatchewan River carries it → It flows into the Saskatchewan River and Lake Winnipeg → It reaches Hudson Bay
Hint: Water runs downhill from small streams into rivers and lakes, and then toward the sea.
Question 5
What is groundwater?
🕳️- water held in soil and rock under the ground
- salt water in the ocean
- water in a cloud
- water in a bottle
Show answer
water held in soil and rock under the ground
Hint: Many farms and towns in Saskatchewan draw drinking water from wells.
Question 6
What is a glacier?
🧊- a sandy desert
- a fast river
- a large mass of ice that moves slowly over land
- a thick cloud
Show answer
a large mass of ice that moves slowly over land
Hint: Glaciers store a lot of Earth's fresh water.