Water. Given its pervasive use in everyday (1) ____, it is no wonder that it is heavily explored in the primary school Science syllabus. Living organisms need it to (2) _____ their survival. People need it to carry (3) _____ their household chores, such as washing dishes.

Since water is so precious, city planners are meticulous about (4) _____ the water supply. For instance, many light plastic ‘shade balls’ are often released into water bodies. These balls (5) _______ the exposed surface area of the water, thus decreasing its rate of evaporation. (6) _______, when potted plants are not watered, they curl up their leaves. Curling up their leaves helps them reduce water loss because the exposed surface area of the leaves is (7) ______.

We need to take safety (8) _______ when handling water. First and (9) ______, we need to keep our hands dry when we use electrical appliances. Otherwise, we may (10) _______ an electric shock as water is a conductor of electricity. Not only (11) ________, designers have to carefully consider the properties of materials to decide which ones are deemed suitable for use when they come into (12) _______ with water. Raincoats and helmets are (13) _______ of waterproof material so that we do not get wet when it rains. Ships are designed such that they can float on water in (14) ________ of their heavy size.

Indeed, water offers us a variety of benefits. Let’s all do our part to (15) _________ sustainable practices that will protect this invaluable resource.