What Is the Ocean?
Know that oceans are huge bodies of salt water that cover most of Earth's surface, and that the ocean is home to an enormous number of living things
What a learner can do afterwards
- State that oceans cover more of Earth than land does
- Explain that ocean water is salty, while many rivers and lakes have fresh water and some lakes are salty
- Describe the ocean as home to a huge variety of living things
1 · Read
On many globes and world maps, blue shows water. Most of that blue is ocean. The ocean covers more of Earth's surface than land.
Mia visited the beach with her mom. Mom explained that ocean water is salty. Mia's cup at home held fresh water. Ocean water is not for drinking.
Many rivers and lakes have fresh water. Some lakes are salty. Ocean water is salty, so we do not drink it.
The ocean is home to many living things. Fish, whales, crabs, and coral all live there.
The ocean is huge, salty, and full of life. It covers more of Earth than land does.
The rewritten readings were written for this dataset.
More to read
Large animals in the ocean
Some ocean animals grow very large. No animal living today is heavier than a blue whale. Some grow beyond 100 feet, roughly three large school buses lined up end to end.
Sharks, giant squid and other whales can also be large. These animals get their food in different ways.
Their ocean home also holds many small living things, including tiny ones that drift through the water.
An anglerfish's glowing bait
Far down in the ocean, some female anglerfish attract food with a light.
A lure sits over the fish's mouth. Inside it, tiny bacteria glow. Small fish may swim toward that light, where the anglerfish can catch them.
Anglerfish in shallower places have lures without a glow. These fish belong to just one of the ocean's many animal groups.
The ocean as a home
We call the ocean's salty water seawater. Salts and other substances are dissolved in it. Many lakes and rivers contain fresh water, although some lakes contain salty water.
Tiny animals build coral reefs. Fish, crabs and many other living things make their homes there.
Ocean animals do not all need the same conditions. Their habitat includes seawater, food, light and temperature.
Explore more
2 · Watch
En anglaisTake it off screen
Where it sits
Learn first
Nothing; this is a starting point.
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.