Unit 4: Water and Aquatic Food Production
Topic 4.1: Water Systems Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB ESS Topic 4.1. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1identify2 marks
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Identify what is meant by a watershed in a drainage basin.
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Explain why a drainage basin is described as an open system.
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Define the term water flow in the context of the hydrological cycle.
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Define the term drainage basin.
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A student describes a drainage basin as a bathtub. Outline what represents the drain in this analogy.
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State two outputs from a drainage basin system.
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Define the term water store.
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State what is meant by a watershed.
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Which store typically has the shortest residence time: glaciers, oceans, deep groundwater, or the atmosphere?
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A city builds a large reservoir to store water for the dry season. State one advantage of increasing water storage in a human-managed system.
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State the main energy input that drives the hydrological cycle.
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State one reason oceans moderate global temperatures.
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State two inputs to a drainage basin system.
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A lake in summer loses water mainly because of high temperatures and dry winds. Name the main process moving water from the lake to the atmosphere.
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State the largest store of water on Earth.
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Define the term hydrological cycle.
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A cold night causes water droplets to form on the outside of a metal water bottle. Identify the hydrological cycle process responsible.
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Outline the role of solar energy in the hydrological cycle.
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After heavy rain, water soaks into dry soil in a school garden rather than flowing across the surface. Identify the transfer that moves water into the soil.
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A tributary joins the main river. Identify the term for the point where the two rivers meet.
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