Approximately 2.5 percent of the total volume of water on Earth is in the form of freshwater. Of this freshwater,...

Phase 1: Owning the Dataset

Visualization Selection

This is a percentage breakdown problem, so we'll use a simple flow diagram to show how the total water volume is divided:

Total Water on Earth (100%)
    |
    ├── Freshwater (2.5%)
    |        |
    |        ├── Surface Water (70% of freshwater)
    |        └── Groundwater (30% of freshwater)
    |
    └── Other Water (97.5% - saltwater, etc.)

Using Concrete Numbers

Let's make this concrete by assuming Earth has 100 units of total water:

• Total water: 100 units
• Freshwater: \(2.5\text{ units }(2.5\% \text{ of } 100)\)
• Surface water: \(70\% \text{ of } 2.5 = 1.75 \text{ units}\)
• Groundwater: \(30\% \text{ of } 2.5 = 0.75 \text{ units}\)

Phase 2: Understanding the Question

We need to find:

1. Statement 1: % of total water volume represented by surface water
2. Statement 2: % of total water volume represented by groundwater

Key insight: The question asks for percentages of TOTAL water, not percentages of freshwater. We need to calculate what portion of Earth's total water each type represents.

Phase 3: Finding the Answer

Surface Water Calculation

Surface water = 70% of freshwater
Surface water = \(0.70 \times 2.5\% = 1.75\%\) of total water

Groundwater Calculation

Groundwater = 30% of freshwater
Groundwater = \(0.30 \times 2.5\% = 0.75\%\) of total water

Verification

Let's verify our calculations add up correctly:

• Surface water: 1.75%
• Groundwater: 0.75%
• Total freshwater: \(1.75\% + 0.75\% = 2.5\%\) ✓

Phase 4: Solution

Final Answer:

• Statement 1 (% of total volume represented by surface water): 1.75
• Statement 2 (% of total volume represented by groundwater): 0.75

Our calculations show that surface water represents 1.75% of Earth's total water volume, while groundwater represents 0.75% of the total.