 |
Ask A Scientist©
Biology Archive
|
 |
Oceans and salt water
Question: We have several questions which relate to oceans. 1) Why can't humans
drink salt water? 2) Why are the oceans made of salt water? 3) Do all the oceans
contain the same level of salt water?
WallyB
Answer: Humans can't drink salt water because the kidneys can only make urine that
is less salty than salt water. Therefore, to get rid of all the excess salt taken in
by drinking salt water, you have to urinate more water than you drank, so you die of
dehydration. All parts of all oceans are not the same, a lot of this because of fresh
water runoff from streams. -ProfBill
NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators.
Argonne National Laboratory, Division of Educational Programs, Harold Myron, Ph.D., Division Director.