Where did Earth’s water come from? - Zachary Metz
- 1,613,431 Views
- 88,874 Questions Answered
- TEDEd Animation
Let’s Begin…
Water covers over 70% of the Earth, cycling from the oceans and rivers
to the clouds and back again. It even makes up about 60% of our bodies.
But in the rest of the solar system, liquid water is almost impossible
to find. So how did our planet end up with so much of this substance?
And where did it come from? Zachary Metz outlines the ancient origins of water on Earth.
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.
Additional Resources for you to Explore
The “Ancient Origins of Water” is a cosmic journey that starts with the Big Bang and ends in a drinking glass. This Smithsonian article takes us back to the very beginning of time and neatly traces waters path from there. National Geographic also paints a picture of how water is likely to have originated on Earth much earlier than once suspected. Science also addresses the subject with this article.
If you are interested in looking at water from a perspective a little closer to home, you can view these TED talks that discuss water scarcity and contamination. Prepare to be awed when Michael Pritchard cleans and drinks non-potable water in the TED Talk: How to make filthy water drinkable. Then watch young teenager, Ludwick Marishane, 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year, as he presents to a TED audience how to take a bath without water. Just think of the global implications of this invention. Less time walking and searching for water, and more time to learn, study, and go to school for girls. The TED Talk: Better toilets, better life: addresses sanitation in India and inspires you to ponder what your world would be like without good water quality. National Geographic also has a complete website on WATER. Visit this site, and learn all you can about this precious compound necessary for life on Earth.
If you are interested in looking at water from a perspective a little closer to home, you can view these TED talks that discuss water scarcity and contamination. Prepare to be awed when Michael Pritchard cleans and drinks non-potable water in the TED Talk: How to make filthy water drinkable. Then watch young teenager, Ludwick Marishane, 2011 Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year, as he presents to a TED audience how to take a bath without water. Just think of the global implications of this invention. Less time walking and searching for water, and more time to learn, study, and go to school for girls. The TED Talk: Better toilets, better life: addresses sanitation in India and inspires you to ponder what your world would be like without good water quality. National Geographic also has a complete website on WATER. Visit this site, and learn all you can about this precious compound necessary for life on Earth.

TED-Ed
Lesson Creator
New York, NY
Create and share a new lesson based on this one.