AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -The frozen part of Earth’s hydrosphere is made of ice: glaciers, ice caps and icebergs. The frozen part of the hydrosphere has its own name, the cryosphere.

Detailed explanation-2: -Ice, being frozen water, is part of the hydrosphere, but it is given its own name, the cryosphere.

Detailed explanation-3: -The hydrosphere includes all the waters on the Earth’s surface, such as oceans, lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater. 97% of all water on earth is seawater (discussed in Chapter 7). The cryosphere is the frozen water on Earth including glaciers, sea ice, snow, freshwater ice, and frozen ground (permafrost).

Detailed explanation-4: -The Earth System (fig. 1) has two primary components: the geosphere and the biosphere. The geosphere has four subcomponents: lithosphere (solid Earth), atmosphere (gaseous envelope), hydrosphere (liquid water), and cryosphere (frozen water) (fig. 2).

Detailed explanation-5: -The hydrosphere is the sum of Earth’s water, in the ocean, the ground, on the surface, and in the air. Approximately 71 percent of Earth’s surface is covered in water.