MARY JOY L.

PESUDAS 10-11-21

BSED SCIENCE 4

TOPIC: WATERSHEDS, RIVERS AND WATER CYCLE

LEARNING ACTIVITIES FOR CHAPTER 1(MIDTERM TOPIC)

GENERAL DIRECTION: Answer all the following activities. Write your answer in a document form and use the give heading
above. All activities must be submitted before the schedule of our next Google meeting.

Formative Assessment 1
ACTIVITY NO.1: ESSAY FORM ACTIVITY

● Use the given topic below!

1. Write an essay about yourself then relate it to watersheds. Underline the descriptive words that shows
characteristics of the watersheds.
ANS. :
My name is Mary Joy Libadisos Pesudas from municipality of Loon and I am currently in my 4 th year in
Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Science.
2. How would you relate water cycle toward yourself as human being?
ans. The water cycle is an extremely important process because it enables the availability of water for all living
organisms and regulates weather patterns on our planet. If water didn't naturally recycle itself, we would run out of
clean water, which is essential to life.
3. The importance of watersheds in our environment.
ans. Healthy watersheds provide many ecosystem services including, but not limited to: nutrient cycling, carbon
storage, erosion/sedimentation control, increased biodiversity, soil formation, wildlife movement corridors, water
storage, water filtration, flood control, food, timber and recreation, as well as reduced vulnerability to invasive
species, the effects of climate change and other natural disasters. These goods and services are essential to our
social, environmental and economic well-being.
4. How people can better protect watersheds and river system.

ans.

Conserve water every day. Take shorter showers, fix leaks & turn off the water when not in use.

● Don’t pour toxic household chemicals down the drain; take them to a hazardous waste center.

● Use hardy plants that require little or no watering, fertilizers or pesticides in your yard.

● Do not over apply fertilizers. Consider using organic or slow release fertilizers instead.

● Recycle yard waste in a compost pile & use a mulching mower.

● Use surfaces like wood, brick or gravel for decks & walkways, which allows rain to soak in and not run off.

● Never pour used oil or antifreeze into the storm drain or the street.

● Pick up after your dog, and dispose of the waste in the toilet or the trash.

● Drive less—walk or bike; many pollutants in our waters come from car exhaust and car leaks.
 ACTIVITY NO.2 (LOCATE ME!)

● You need to locate major rivers on Earth and trace watersheds.

Create an outlined "bubble" around each major river and all of its tributaries to the Suggested Rivers:

● Amazon
Amur
● Columbia
● Congo
● Kolyma
● Lena
● Mackenzie-Peace
● Mekong
● Mississippi
● Murray-Darling
● Niger
● Nile
● Ob-Irtysh
● Orinoco
● Parana
● Saint Lawrence
● Yangtze
● Yellow
● Yenisey-Angara
● Yukon
 MST2 (PEOPLE AND THE EARTH ECOSYSTEM)

ACTIVITY NO.3

● After making an outline bubble that was based on the major rivers on earth draw some local watershed and
compare it to the shapes of other watersheds.

❖ Discuss virtually the topography of local watershed and major watersheds on earth

Formative Assessment 2
Instructions
For graphical questions, create and print a legible diagram according to the specific guidelines given (Questions 1, 3, and
4). For short answer questions, answer each question in 2-3 complete sentences (Questions 2 and 5). Consider each
question carefully and be sure to provide a complete answer.

Questions
1. You live in a watershed...or more likely multiple watersheds that are nested within one another. Find the location of
your home on Google Earth (or a similar mapping program) and determine which watersheds you live in (e.g., Saucon
Creek watershed, which is part of the Lehigh River watershed, which is part of the Delaware River watershed). If a
drop of rain hits your front yard, which stream would it flow into? Where does it go from there? For the purpose of this
exercise, assume the water runs off the surface and ignore the (likely) possibility that it goes into a storm sewer and
waste water treatment plant before being discharged into a local stream or river. Use the exaggerated 3D view of
Google Earth (Tools>Options>3D View, then set Elevation Exaggeration to 3) to see the local topography. Use
the 'Add polygon' tool (in the tool bar along the top of the viewing window) to delineate the watershed boundary of the
stream that your property drains into (should look something like Figure 1 below). Note that when you are finished
drawing the polygon, you can name it (it will automatically save in My Places in Google Earth) and you can change the
color of the watershed boundary and the opacity of the fill (make it 50% so you can see through it). Grab a screen shot
of your watershed delineation.
2. Describe the watershed you live in and which larger watersheds it is nested within (see example below).
 Figure 1

Credit: Patrick Belmont

3. Take a look at the cartoon watershed drawn below.
1. What is the stream order at the mouth/outlet of the
watershed?
2. Draw arrows on the watershed cartoon to illustrate each
of the fluxes shown in 
Figure 5 on the previous page.

Figure2

Credit: Patrick Belmont

3. Draw a second version of your watershed cartoon and scale the thickness of the arrows to illustrate which flow
paths might become more dominant (i.e., pathways conveying more water get thicker arrows) following a clear-
cut for timber harvest or urban development.
4. Explain why certain pathways have become more/less important after clear-cutting the forest. Bring this figure
and explanation to class for comparison to the figure you generated for Question 3 above.

Scoring and Rubric

Each answer will earn a maximum of 5 points, as described in the rubrics below.

Rubric for Questions 1, 3, and 4

Work Shown Possible Points

Diagram is accurate / correct 2

Symbols, labels, and/or legend are effective 2

1
Conveys information requested in question

Rubric for Questions 2 and 5

Work Shown Possible Points

Answer reflects careful consideration of the question 2

Answer is appropriate in length 1

Answer is legible 1
Answer given in complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar 1

Formative Assessment 3: River Flow

Instructions
Answer each question in 2-3 complete sentences. Consider each question carefully and be sure to
provide a complete answer.

Questions
1. Explain the difference between an upland system and a stream system. What would you measure
in order to determine whether a channel could be considered a stream?
2. Go to the USGS website (water.usgs.gov) and find a gauged river near where you live.
1. Before looking at the discharge data make predictions about the likely flow regime based
on your knowledge of watershed characteristics such as topography and geology and local
climate patterns. Is the river likely to have predictable floods or unpredictable floods? Are
large magnitude floods likely to be frequent or infrequent, of short or long duration? How
flashy is the river likely to be? How different are the lowest and highest flows experienced
within a year (i.e., is the highest flow of the year 10, 100, or 1000+ times greater than the
lowest flow of the year)?
2. Now look at the mean daily flow record for the last 10 years and compare the flow regime
to your predictions. Were you surprised by any aspects of the flow regime? Submit a
screen-shot of the hydrograph and a brief explanation of your findings.
3. Compare your chosen river to another river that has a watershed of comparable size, but is
in a different geo-climatic region. Is the flow regime similar or different? In what ways is it
different? Describe some of the major watershed and climatic characteristics that likely
account for these differences.
3. What is the lowest flow of the year on the Logan River for each of the four years shown in Figure
21? Why do you suppose there is so little apparent variability in this low flow value? 

Scoring and Rubric

Each answer will earn a maximum of 5 points, as described in the rubric below.

Rubric
Work Shown Possible Points

Answer reflects careful consideration of the question 2

Answer is appropriate in length 1

Answer is legible 1

Answer given in complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar 1

Formative Assessment 4:

Instructions
Write up a 1 page document (including your screen shots) answering the following questions.

1. Use Google Earth or a similar map program to find

a) a single-threaded channel with low sinuosity (relatively straight), Hint: These are relatively common.

b) a single-threaded channel with high sinuosity (lots of meander bends), Hint: Look in southern Alabama, Louisiana and
Mississippi.

c) a braided channel with unvegetated bars and , Hint: Try British Columbia, Canada or Southern Alaska .

d) an anastomosing channel with vegetated islands. Hint: These may be the hardest to find. Look for multi-threaded
reaches with large, vegetated bars. Try the Tonle Sap River in Cambodia, or the Murray River in southeastern Australia.

Submit screen shots (4 total) of the different channel types you find. If you don't find one or more of the river types in the
area you are searching in the first few minutes, move to an entirely different geo-climatic zone and search for a few more
minutes. What channel type do you come across most often? Which area(s) did you look at? What channel type do you
come across most often? Approximately what is the stream order for each of the channels you captured as screen shots
(i.e., are they first or second order channels? fifth order? tenth order?)? What other relevant observations did you make
about the stream network while virtually flying around?

Formative Assessment 3 : ANSWER SHEETS.

Instructions
Follow the instructions provided in each question, them answer the questions below.

Scoring and Rubric

Each answer will earn a maximum of 5 points, as described in the rubric below.
Work Shown Possible Points

Answer reflects careful consideration of the question 2

Answer is appropriate in length 1

Answer is legible 1

Answer given in complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar 1

Questions

1. Explain the difference between an upland system and a stream system. What would you measure in order to determine whether a channel
could be considered a stream?
2. Go to the USGS website (water.usgs.gov) and find a gaged river near where you live.

a) Before looking at the discharge data make predictions about the likely flow regime based on your knowledge of watershed characteristics
such as topography and geology and local climate patterns. Is the river likely to have predictable floods or unpredictable floods? Are large
magnitude floods likely to be frequent or infrequent, of short or long duration? How flashy is the river likely to be? How different are the
lowest and highest flows experienced within a year (i.e., is the highest flow of the year 10, 100, or 1000+ times greater than the lowest flow
of the year)?

b) Now look at the mean daily flow record for the last 10 years and compare the flow regime to your predictions. Were you surprised by any
aspects of the flow regime? Submit a screen-shot of the hydrograph and a brief explanation of your findings.
 c) Compare your chosen river to another river that has a watershed of comparable size, but is in a different geo-climatic region. Is the flow
regime similar or different? In what ways is it different? Describe some of the major watershed and climatic characteristics that likely
account for these differences.  

3. What is the lowest flow of the year on the Logan River for each of the four years shown in Figure 21?  Why do you suppose there is so little
apparent variability in this low flow value?

Formative Assessment 2 (ANSWER SHEETS)

Instructions
Read the questions below fully and follow the instructions

Grading and Rubric

Scoring and Rubric

Each answer will earn a maximum of 5 points, as described in the rubrics below.

Rubric for Questions 1, 3, and 4

Work Shown Possible Points

Diagram is accurate / correct 2

Symbols, labels, and/or legend are effective 2

Conveys information requested in question 1

Rubric for Questions 2 and 5

Work Shown Possible Points

Answer reflects careful consideration of the question 2

Answer is appropriate in length 1

Answer is legible 1

Answer given in complete sentences, correct spelling and grammar 1

Questions

1. You live in a watershed…or more likely multiple watersheds that are nested within one another.  Find your location on Google Earth or a
similar mapping program and determine which watersheds you live in. If a drop of rain hits your front yard, which stream would it flow into?
Where does it go from there? For the purpose of this exercise, ignore the (likely) possibility that it goes into a storm sewer and waste water
treatment plant before being discharged into a local stream or river. Use the ‘terrain’ view of Google Earth to delineate the watershed
upstream from the location where your raindrop would enter the nearest stream, following the highest topography that drains to your
stream, similar to the dashed lines in Figure 1. Submit a screen-shot of your watershed map.
Figure 1
2. Take a look at the cartoon watershed drawn below. What is the stream order at the mouth/outlet of the watershed? Draw arrows on the
watershed cartoon to illustrate each of the fluxes shown in Figure 1, above.

Figure 2
3. If the width of the arrows in Figure 2 above were scaled to the percentage of flow following each pathway (i.e., pathways conveying more
water get thicker arrows), which arrows would be thickest (i.e., which pathways are dominant) for a densely forested watershed in
Pennsylvania or western Washington state? How might you redraw the thickness of the arrows in that figure following a clear-cut for timber
harvest or urban development?

4. The confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers is just north of St. Louis, Missouri.  From Figure 1 above you can see that the
Missouri River is much longer and has a much larger drainage area than the Mississippi River upstream from that point. So why do you
think the official ‘headwaters’ of the Mississippi River is in northern Minnesota, rather than western Montana (i.e., the headwaters of the
Missouri River)? Hint: Think back to concepts of the distribution of water discussed in module 2.