Water is made up of two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen molecule. It has no colour, smell or taste. Its chemical formula looks like this: H20
Without water, there would be no life on Earth. Plants, animals, and humans could not survive without water. In fact, around 65% of the human body is made up of water! So just imagine how important water is.
States of water
Water is the only substance that is found in three different states and all at the same time. It can be solid (ice) when it freezes below 0ºC, it can be liquid and it can be gas (vapour) when it evaporates above 100ºC. It moves around from place to place and changes state through the water cycle.
Where is water found?
About two-thirds of the planet is water, it is found in seas, oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, canals, and many other places.
97% of Earth’s water is in the oceans and 3% is freshwater. But from that 3%, 2.4% is frozen in glaciers. That means only 0.6% of the Earth’s water is drinkable! We can’t drink salt water and we can’t drink dirty water. Humans need clean water without salt and impurities.
Does water have a taste?
Water itself has no taste but sometimes when we drink water it can taste a bit bitter. What we’re actually tasting are the minerals and substances dissolved in the water.
Where does it come from?
When you turn on the taps in your house, water comes out. The water doesn’t actually come from the taps. Have you ever wondered where the tap water comes from?
Most tap water comes from nearby rivers and lakes. It gets pumped out and cleaned then taken to your house through underground pipes.
Millions of people in the world don’t have taps, they collect water directly from wells, rivers, or from the rain.
