Water Cycle

Explore the amazing journey of water! Learn about evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and more.

The Water Cycle Video Watch the video, then answer the questions below. Match the term to the correct definition. Water Cycle the process by which water continuously moves around Earth Evaporation occurs when the sun heats up water in rivers, lakes, or oceans and turns it into vapor or steam that goes into the air. Transpiration process by which plants lose water out of their leaves. Condensation occurs once the water vapor is in the air, it gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. The diagram of the stages in the water cycle is shown below.Which of these observations would most likely be seen at Stage N? Runoff -water flowing downhill Fog forming along a highway The water level of a lake decreasing Dark clouds forming in the sky Which habitat on Earth would probably add the greatest amount of water to the water cycle through evaporation? cold lake desert sand warm ocean mountain rock Which of the following best describes one way the sun interacts with the ocean in the water cycle? The sun reflects off the ocean, causing the development of waves. The ocean absorbs the heat from the sun which influences marine life. The sun heats the water in the ocean, creating tides. The sun heats the water in the ocean, causing the water to evaporate. Which statement correctly describes a water cycle process? Evaporation can occur when water gains heat energy from the sun and changes into water vapor. Condensation can occur when liquid water drops in clouds lose energy and fall to the Earth. Transpiration can occur when water vapor gains energy and moves higher into the atmosphere. Precipitation can occur when water vapor loses energy and forms liquid water droplets in clouds. As water moves through the water cycle, it may become – a solid a liquid a gas all of the above During most of the year, the air over Houston, Texas, contains a high amount of moisture called humidity. Which of the following BEST explains why there is a high amount of moisture in the air? Houston is close to the Gulf of Mexico. Houston is at a low elevation. Houston is near many mountains. Houston is not too far from the equator. In which location on the diagram is water changing from a liquid to a gas? A B C D Why is the water cycle vital to plants and animals living on land? Evaporation from rivers and lakes adds fresh water to the oceans through condensation. Groundwater is replaced by saltwater from the oceans after many days in the air. Water vapor in the atmosphere condenses to reduce evaporation from lakes and rivers. Precipitation replaces fresh water lost from rivers and lakes because of evaporation. Match the term with the correct definition runoff water that flows along the ground returning to rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans. groundwater the water that infiltrates in the ground or gets absorbed by the soil, water underground. accumulation places where water collects and then gets evaporated. Includes lakes, ponds, streams, and oceans. sun major source of thermal energy that powers the water cycle. ocean biggest body of water that absorbs the most thermal energy from the sun, where most of the evaporated water comes from. Fill in the blank: use the word bank to fill in the blank. The water cycleis important for our planet because it provides fresh water for plants and animalsto survive. The Earth has many types of bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, and rivers. The sun'sheat causes this surface water to change into a gas called vapor. This process is called evaporation. The Sun’s heat also causes plants to lose their water; this process is called transpiration. This vapor slowly rises into the airwhere the vapor turns back into a liquiddue to the atmosphere having a lower temperature. This process is called condensation. The liquid is stored in clouds,but when the clouds become too heavy, they drop the water in the form of rain, sleet, snow or hail. This is called precipitation. The rain falls to the ground and starts to runoffthe surface. This runoff causes the water to accumulate into larger bodies of water. Whatever water does not accumulate sinks into the soil and becomes groundwater. The water cycle is continuously occurring on all parts of the planet. Water Cycle Diagram Use the words from the word bank to label the processes of the water cycle on the image.Word bank: evaporation runoff condensation accumulation precipitation groundwater transpiration accumulation condensation evaporation runoff precipitation groundwater transpiration