Look at a globe and turn it slowly. You will see a lot of blue. Blue is water. The tan and green parts are land.
Key idea
Earth has land and water. Water covers about 71 out of every 100 parts of Earth's surface, so there is much more water than land.
Why it works
People live on land, so it is easy to think land is most of the world. But the oceans are huge. From one side of Earth, over the Pacific Ocean, you can see almost nothing but water.
Worked example: More land or more water?
If you could put a sticker anywhere on Earth without looking, would it more likely land on water or on land?
- About 71 out of every 100 parts of Earth's surface are water.
- That is about 7 out of 10.
Answer: On water, most of the time.
Common mistake
Children often guess there is more land, because we live on it. Show a globe from the Pacific side: almost all blue.
For the grown-up. Play the globe game: spin a globe (or a beach-ball globe), stop it with a finger, and count how often the finger lands on water. Most of the time it will.