The water cycle

The water cycle

Evaporation: is when the sun shines on water and heats it,
turning it into gas called water vapour.
Transpiration: is when the sun warms people, plants and animals
and they release water vapour into the air
Condensation Is when water vapour in the air cools and turns
back into a liquid, forming tiny droplets in the sky
Precipitation: when water droplets fall from the sky as rain,snow
or hail
Run-off: when water flows over the ground and into creeks rivers
and oceans
Infiltration: water falling into the ground, soaking into the soil
Percolation: when water seeps deeper into tiny spaces in the soil
and rock

People modify and manage the natural water cycle to make sure
- we have a safe and reliable water supply
- used water is removed and cleaned to protect public health and the environment

The urban water cycle

In an urban environment people interact with the water cycle by
- collecting and storing water to use
- adding rubbish and pollutants
- building structures that interrupt the flow of water
Therefore, the urban water cycle is a system that helps us manage these interactions, so we
- have enough clean, safe water for our growing population
- protect public health and the environment
The urban water cycle is made out of
- dams
- water filtration plants
- water reservoirs
- drinking water supply pipes
- waste water treatment and water recycling plants

Sydney water manages the water in Sydney, Blue Mountains and Illawarra. They manage
drinking water quality, water supplied to us and businesses and wastewater and stormwater
systems. Other organisations responsible for water management include Greater Sydney
commission, local councils and Water NSW

Most of our water comes from rainwater collected from natural catchment areas. It is then stored
in local lakes and rivers that are surrounded by native bushland in the region. Warragamba Dam
provides 80% of Sydney’s drinking water
Filtration and desalination
The quality of incoming water could be different because of
- activities in the catchment
- natural minerals
- weather conditions e.g. high rainfall, drought
- natural hazards e.g. bushfires
To produce quality drinking water
- we use mesh screens to remove debris
- adjust PH levels to balance it
- add a solution to help filtering
- Add small amounts of chlorine to protect water
- add fluoride

Sometimes desalination can help provide clean water to the population. Since the amount of
water in oceans isn’t affected by rain, it is a reliable water source. The desalination plant uses
reverse osmosis membranes to extract fresh water from saltwater. These membranes block
dissolved solids like salt, so only fresh water passes through. The salt goes back into the
ocean.The process is:
1. Water is drawn in
2. Pre treatment filters remove small particles
3. Filtered seawater is pumped into reverse osmosis building
4. Waste from pretreatment are dried using centrifugation and are reused or disposed
5. Sea water is pushed through reverse osmosis membrane
6. Fluoride and minerals are added
7. Water is transferred to tank
8. Sea water concentrate is returned to the ocean
Water is always tested to see if it is safe. Samples from rivers, streams, dams, plants and taps
are taken.

A Liebig's Condenser desalinates water on a smaller scale in a laboratory

Hydro electricity
Hydro electricity is a renewable form of electricity.
- from energy supply of falling water
- clean and sustainable
- water from rain and snow mept is collected and stored in dams
- gravitational potential energy > kinetic energy
- flows from upper dams to powerstation with turbines
- this spins the electromagnet
- therefore mechanical energy>electrical energy

- connects to heat, sound and light

- the higher the fall, the more energy > more power
- 250 fall, increased pressure> increased kinetic energy

Reverse osmosis
Water can be made safe for drinking using reverse osmosis. Reverse osmosis forces water
through a membrane with very small holes, or pores to remove pollutants, disease-causing
organisms and salts. Reverse osmosis can help reduce the amount of water that needs to be
taken from natural ecosystems.

In osmosis, pure water naturally flows through a membrane to dilute salty water, leaving less
pure water. But in reverse osmosis, water molecules are pressured to flow the other way to
produce pure water. A lot of energy is needed to do this
A reverse osmosis membrane filters out contaminants because they are too big to fit through
the pores.
Reverse osmosis can be used to produce clean drinking water using seawater, underground
water or wastewater. Recycled water is produced from wastewater in sewage systems. Water
from sewage systems is treated to become treatable by
- filtering to remove solids and bacteria
- Reverse osmosis to remove salts
- Disinfection with UV light to ensure that all disease causing organisms are killed

Household, industrial and agricultural uses

In some parts of Australia, very high rainfall is received, in others it is quite dry. Because of this,
water flowing along rivers is collected in reservoirs and is directed to dry areas. This water is
used in crops in a process called irrigation. This means instead of only growing grass and tough
shrubs, farmers have enough water to grow citrus and other fruit trees, grass for dairy cattle,
grapes, rice and vegetables. Although irrigation helps farmers to grow crops, it can also create
problems.

Problem Possible solution

Open channels and sprinkler systems used Mulch and drip systems replace water
for irrigation mean water is wasted due to sprinkling; pipes are used instead of open
evaporation channels

Some land is too dry for crops to grow even The federal government buys back extremely
with irrigation, so the water is wasted dry land from farmers
 More water is used on crops than is needed Farmers measure soil moisture to reduce
overwatering

Too little water make it downstream for other Governments make rules about how much
uses or for the health of a river water can be taken from a river

Too much water is used on crops that don’t Water authorities only allow irrigation to be
give a good return used on some crop types

indigenous land management

- Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people have a cultural connection to their land and
have managed it for thousands of years
- Breakdowns of ecological system and harms to biodiversity were linked to a loss of
traditional land management
- Studies in central Australia als found that people living on traditional homelands had a
lower risk and occurrence of chronic disease. This was because of the Aboriginal
residents
- Cultural connection to country and family

- water is essential to life, agriculture and energy producing

- Non indigenous Australians consider water as a spiritual, natural, resource and a
commodity that is not only essential to livelihood but also has a economic contemporary
value
- Indigenous people regard the rivers,wetlands, sea, islands, reefs, etc. as a part of their
home
- Their relationship with water and land and resources is vital to cultus vitality and
resilience

Science to the rescue

Human health issues

Human health issues include obesity and heart disease, COVID-19, etc.

Obesity can influence the rates of getting heart disease or lead to heart disease. It is a disorder
referring to excess body fat, requiring the body to produce more blood to supply oxygen and
nutrients to it, leading to a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Statistics say in 2017-18, 1 in 4 children and adolescents aged 2-17 were overweight or obese.
This is about 1.2 million children and adolescents. 2 in 3 Australians aged 18 and over were
obese and overweight, making up 12.5 million adults.
These issues affect society in different ways and it is important to research strategies to manage
them. For example, a COVID-19 outbreak could lead to rising unemployment rates, and less
social interactions. Research is important so we are able to manage and control them, heal
ourselves and others or at least slow down the spread of disease

Obesity made up 8.4% of the total disease in Australia. As mentioned, obesity increases the
rate of heart (cardiovascular) disease, but also asthma, back problems, chronic disease,
dementia and diabetes. Heart disease killed 17 533 Australians in 2018.

Obesity and overweightness are influenced by factors such as schools, workplaces, homes, the
media, availability of foods and portion sizes.

Diet and exercise are often factors as well. If you consume food, but do not burn off the energy,
the energy will be stored as fat. Eating a healthy diet makes sure you don't consume too many
unwanted substances. Over eating can also cause high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure
and type 2 diabetes which can raise the risk of heart disease.

scientific research or technology can contribute to finding a solution to a human health issue
e.g. chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to destroy cancer cells. These drugs are called
cytotoxics, meaning they are toxic to cells, and can come from plants or a laboratory. It can be
given orally, through a needle into the vein or a cream, and can be as long as 6 months or more.
It works by keeping cancer cells from growing, dividing and making more cells by damaging the
abnormal cell. Since cells in cancer grow and divide quickly, it is most commonly used in cancer.
Chemotherapy has helped cure cancer completely, reduce the chance of the cancer coming
back, control cancer and help other treatments. After treatment there may be side effects,
including nausea and vomiting, fatigue, hair loss and muscle weakness. Chemotherapy has
improved over time, now being able to detect the abnormal cells, decreasing the chance of
damaging a healthy cell.

Scientific method and clinical trials

problem/question identifies what is needed to be worked on

research topic area allows us to gather more information

hypothesis make an educational guess on what might

happen if the medicine is used

experiments testing the medicine

data analysis analysing, seeing its effects

conclusions evaluate on the medicine, if it worked, what

made it work and if it didn't how could it
improve
Robert Koch's four postulates for identifying infectious disease
1. The microorganism must always be present, in every case of the disease.
2. The germ must be able to be isolated from a host containing the disease and grown in a lab,
in a "culture".
3. Samples taken from the culture must cause the same disease when introduced into a healthy
model animal like a mouse.
4. The germ must be isolated from that new animal, meaning it is the same organism that
caused the disease in the original host.

Joseph Lister
- In 1856, surgery was risky at the time. Most patients developed infections and died
- Doctors believed bad air caused these infections
- The hospital was not sanitary, there were stained sheets, uncleaned tools, and no one
washed their hands
- In 1864, Lister realised that germs could be causing the infections, while reading about
Louis Pasteur
- He thought that sterilization could help, so he started to experiment with substances to
kill the germs
- A year later, a boy came in with a broken leg. Lister sterilised the wound with carbolic
acid. This worked, as the boy was healed and did not have any infections

Biotechnology
The use of knowledge of biological processes to form medical, industrial and agricultural
technology or products. This is due to the increased knowledge of biological processes which
has led to the development of biotechnology such as pharmaceuticals.

Organ failure
The failure of an essential system in the body (renal failure, cardiovascular system, etc.) can be
caused by different conditions including sepsis, kidney and heart disease, shocks, autoimmune
disorders and burns. This can be treated by transplants from donors.

Artificial limbs prosthetics, are devices used to replace a missing body part (usually an
amputated arm or leg) in patients that have suffered a major injury or have an illness such as
cancer or were born with particular defects. Artificial joints are used to treat people with several
cases of joint damage.

For prosthetics, materials must be strong, lightweight and free of pathogens. They are now
individual shaped and dyed to match existing limb shapes and appearances. Electronic
advances even allow robotic prosthetics to respond to nerve messages. The nerves that would
have controlled the old limb before amputation are surgically redirected. Electrodes are then
placed at the redirected site, and transferred into electrodes in the artificial limb.
Opinions of society

Different groups in society choose to make different decisions based on their values.

Organ transplantation: There is current development into xenotransplants (organ transplants

from an animal). This is due to the fact that the number of people needing organ transplants
outweigh the number of organs available for donation leading to many people dying waiting for a
transplant. However, many religious groups may be opposed to receiving an organ or tissue
transplant from an animal.

Disease prevention: As can be seen through the current COVID-19 pandemics there are
varying opinions on the actions taken in order to control the pandemic. Some people find the
mask mandates as too restrictive and intrusive, believing it to be an attack on their “rights”.

Dietary deficiencies: Anemia is a condition in which there is a lack of healthy red blood cells.
One of the causes of anemia is iron deficiency, in the case of someone who is vegan they would
avoid animal based products that have high levels of iron, such as meat. Instead of choosing
other food that contains high levels of iron such as spinach, tofu, and legumes (beans and
lentils).

Reliability of sources

Information can be found through a variety of different ways: books, the internet, news, social
media, etc. However, not all sources of information will be reliable.

Bias: For scientific publications looking at who is publishing or the source of the information is
important. The company or researchers involved may have an agenda depending on who is
paying for the research, what benefits to the company gets from a particular point of view being
pushed.

Date of publication: Generally more recent publications are considered to be more reliable as
the information is more up to date and is generally more reliable.

Credentials of the Author: Is the author and expert in the field? What qualifications does the
author have? What experience do they have on the topic?

Earth’s resources

- Resource: a material or supply that can be used for a particular purpose

- Renewable: resource that can be constantly replenished from natural source
- Non-renewable: resource that cannot be easily replenished and will eventually run out
Coal, oil, and natural gas are examples of non renewable resources. They are fossil fuels which
are from fossils that take millions of years to form. When they are burned, they release
pollutants into the atmosphere like carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

Renewable resources are solar, water, wind, biomass(wood for fire) and geothermal (geyser,
springs, lava- basically from the earth’s core). These resources are limitless and can be
replaced, but they can also have disadvantages. They can be expensive or some resources
have different uses ( trees).

Earth’s spheres

Biosphere - is composed of all living organisms: plants, animals and one-celled organisms
Lithosphere - is composed of all the rocks and minerals of the Earth. This includes the mantle
and crust.
Hydrosphere - is composed of all of the water on or near the planet's surface. This includes
oceans, rivers, and lakes, as well as underground aquifers and the moisture in the atmosphere.
Atmosphere - is composed of the gases that surrounds Earth

bio - means life

litho - means stone
hydro - means water
atmo - means air

- Biosphere – livestock on farms, micro-organisms (food and medicine production), plants

(wood, plant-based foods)
- Atmosphere – wind and sunlight (wind and solar power)
- Lithosphere – minerals and ores to be mined
- Hydrosphere – water to be treated and used in households, hydro power
Natural resource: resources found in nature which can be used by people.

Man-made (Synthetic) resource - usually processed or manufactured resources from natural

resources

Example: paper is a man-made resource that is made from processed wood. Wood on the other
hand is a natural resource.

Recycling

After recycling is collected, it goes into a recycling plant where everything is sorted. Different
materials are sorted in different ways, for example, paper is put into hot water to make it into
pulp. Using recycled materials saves non-renewable resources we use such as oil and
consumes less energy. For the time it takes to make 1 aluminium can, 20 new, recycled
aluminium cans can be created. Not only does recycling avoid our use of fossil fuels, it is also
not time consuming and helps the environment.
Benefits of recycling are

● Uses less energy to recycle than it does to obtain and process new materials from the
Earth’s spheres
● Most plastics are not biodegradable which results in high levels of waste that affects the
environment.
● Plastics are made from oil, a nonrenewable resource and thus new production of plastics
is unsustainable.
● Lower amounts of pollution is produced through recycling as opposed to manufacturing
new plastics.