Salinity

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

If you have ever been to the beach, you probably got water from the ocean in your mouth and eyes just like the kids in the video above!

• What did the water taste like?
• What did it feel like when it got in your eyes?
• What did your skin feel like after you exited the ocean?

You probably noticed seawater does not taste like a normal glass of water, and your eyes probably burned when you got the ocean water in them. You may have also noticed that your skin feels sticky after you get out of the ocean.

The ocean is full of salt. Salt gives the water a funny taste, burns your eyes, and leaves your skin sticky.

The ocean has significantly more salt than you pour on your vegetables at dinner.

Scientists estimate that there are about seven teaspoons of salt for every liter of water in the ocean.

1. Pour one liter of water into a glass or a container.
2. Then, measure seven even teaspoons of salt and pour the salt into the container.

To paint a better picture, it would take three large shipping containers full of salt to make an Olympic-sized swimming pool as salty as the ocean.

The amount of salt in the ocean can vary by location. To find out why salinity, or the amount of salt in water, varies by location, read about Ocean salinity.

The ocean's saltiness is caused when minerals are eroded. These minerals are deposited into the ocean through weathering.

To learn more about this process, read Why is the ocean salty?.

Finally, explore NASA's Salinity site and find the answers to the following questions.

• How does salt get into the ocean?
• What regions have high salinity levels?
• How do scientists measure salinity?
• How does rainfall affect salinity readings?

Then, move to the Got It? section to experiment with salinity.