What percentage of Earth's water is salt water?

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Multiple Choice

What percentage of Earth's water is salt water?

Explanation:
Most of Earth's water is salt water because the oceans contain nearly all of it. About 97% of Earth's total water is in the oceans as salty seawater. The remaining roughly 3% is fresh water, and most of that is locked up in ice caps and glaciers, with only a small portion present as liquid water in lakes, rivers, and groundwater. So the salt-water share is about 97%. The other numbers don’t match the actual distribution: 3% refers to freshwater, not salt water; 50% or 70% would misstate how water is split between salt water and freshwater.

Most of Earth's water is salt water because the oceans contain nearly all of it. About 97% of Earth's total water is in the oceans as salty seawater. The remaining roughly 3% is fresh water, and most of that is locked up in ice caps and glaciers, with only a small portion present as liquid water in lakes, rivers, and groundwater. So the salt-water share is about 97%. The other numbers don’t match the actual distribution: 3% refers to freshwater, not salt water; 50% or 70% would misstate how water is split between salt water and freshwater.

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