Water: the strangest chemical in the universe

Water: the strangest chemical in the universe

I Study the active vocabulary and focus on Ukrainian equivalents of English words.

surface поверхня

chemical хімічний елемент

universe всесвіт

solid твердий

float плавати

liquid рідкий

freeze замерзати

expand збільшуватись в об’ємі

dense щільний

quirk примха

shape надавати форми

soil грунт

eon ера

seep просочитися

giant величезний

boulder валун

melt танути

shatter розбити

environment середовище

growth зростання

underneath внизу

survive  вижити

evolve розвиватися

bottom дно

spew вивергати

seafloor морське дно

cell клітина

nudge підштовхувати

DNA ДНК

protein білок

protective захисний

shuffle перемішувати

nutrient поживна речовина

scaffold каркас

enable робити можливим

solar system сонячна система

hurtle мчати

embed закарбовувати

imbue набувати

holiness святість

spirituality духовність

flood повінь

spring народжуватися

scarcity дефіцит

profound складний

challenge виклик

existence існування

  

II Vocabulary focus. Study the words and  word combinations, check your understanding using flashcards, practise their translation, spelling. Check your knowledge in the test. Play matching vocabulary game (match words to their translations to make cards disappear)  and save the planet from asteroids by typing in correct translation of the words.

NB

When the earth refers to our planet, it is capitalized only when it’s a proper noun (it acts like a name) and is not preceded by the:   everything on Earth

The word is not capitalized when it is a common noun (it does not act like a name) and is preceded by the: everything on the earth.

III Watch the video and fill in the gaps with the words from the list. There are some words you don’t need to use.

boulders; melted; rises; covers; shoulders; surface; glass; dense; diverse; everywhere; clovers; chemical; freezes; nothing; thing;  simple; shaped; powerful; body; water; secret; everything; environment; gas;  soil; floating; face; ice; ample; universe; breeze; life; rocks

There are 1.5 bn km³ of water on Earth, it 1)_____ 70% of our planet’s 2)_____. And your 13)_____ is around 2/3 water. It’s 4)_____. And all of that water has a 5)_____. This is the strangest 6)_____ in the 7)_____.

          Look at the 8)_____ in this 9)_____, a solid 10)_____ on its liquid. Unlike 11)_____ else when water 12)_____, it expands and becomes less 13)_____, which means the ice 14)_____ to the top. That 15)_____ quirk has 16)_____ the earth and all 17)_____ on it. It’s why we have 18)_____. Over eons 19)_____ seeped into giant 20)_____, it froze and 21)_____, and froze, and melted. Water’s 22)_____ expansion shattered the 23)_____ to pieces creating the perfect 24)_____ for growth.

IV Watch the video again and choose the correct option to complete the sentences.

And because it bloat/gloats/floats, it insulates the water/utter/antic underneath keeping it liquid/liquidity/liquidate giving rife/life/strife a place to survive and evolve despite the many nice/vice/ice ages on Earth. All life heeds/needs/breed liquid water. And life starter/started/starters at the button/butter/bottom of the ocean where minerals/mineral/mutual and heat spewed up from inside the earth and onto the seafloor. Water’s strange chemist/chemistry/chemical turned those raw needing/needs/ingredients into the first biological shell/fell/cells. And that strange/arrange/change chemistry is working inside you to this day/way/lay. It nudges the DNC/DNA/DNI in proteins inside your cells to do their flops/jobs/tops. It helps alleviate/create/inflate the adjective/protective/affective membranes around cells, it shuffles energy/energetic/energize and nutritional/ nurture/nutrients around you, not only you, but every living thing/sing/sink. Water is the scaffold that enables/capable/able the chemistry of life and our plant/planning/planet isn’t the only one with water. The insular/solar/polar system’s full of it: comets/contents/ comments are simply balls of frozen water that hurtle through pace/spaced/space. In fact, billions of years ago they brought/fought/bring water to the earth.

V Watch the video and fill in the gaps in the text.

Water’s been found on the 1)______, on Mars, and there’re oceans of the stuff on the moons of Jupiter and 2)______. And where there’s 3)______, there could be life.

But we’ve always known there was something 4)______about water. Nothing else has been embedded into our 5)______for so long, imbued with such 6)______and spirituality. Along with 7)______, earth, and 8)______, water is one of the four classical 9)______. Every 10)______has a myth about floods; 11)______have never sprung up far from 12)______or seas, and it’s scarcity in parts of the 13)______today is a profound 14)______to our very existence. Water, this strange 15)______, connects you to 16)______and everything else and the rest of the 17)______.  

VI Watch all parts of the video and answer the questions.

 1 What makes water a strange chemical element?

2 What states of water are described in the video? In which of the states is water less dense?

3 Why does ice float on the surface of eater?

4 What is the role of water for our planet and for the universe?

5 Is there water on other planets? If yes, which ones?

6 How are comets connected with water?

7 What is the role of water in human organisms?

8 How much water is there on our planet?

9 How did water help living cells to appear and evolve?

10 What challenges does water present for people today?