What percentage of Earth's water is freshwater?

• A. About 50%
• B. About 2.5%
• C. About 10%
• D. About 25%

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the context of the problem. Earth's water is distributed across oceans, glaciers, groundwater, and other sources. Freshwater refers to water with low concentrations of dissolved salts, primarily found in glaciers, ice caps, groundwater, and surface water like rivers and lakes.
2. Step 2: Recall the approximate distribution of Earth's water. About 97.5% of Earth's water is saltwater, primarily in oceans, leaving only about 2.5% as freshwater.
3. Step 3: Break down the sources of freshwater. Of the 2.5% freshwater, the majority is locked in glaciers and ice caps, while a smaller portion is found in groundwater and an even smaller fraction in surface water.
4. Step 4: Compare the given options to the known percentage of freshwater. The correct answer should align with the scientific data that approximately 2.5% of Earth's water is freshwater.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the correct answer is 'About 2.5%' based on the scientific distribution of Earth's water resources.