Download Water Cycles

Water Cycles
What is Water Cycle?
The cycle of processes by which water circulates
between the earth's oceans, atmosphere, and
land, involving precipitation as rain and snow,
drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the
atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
An Example of a Water Cycle
What Happens During a Water
Cycle
Water on Earth is always changing. Its repeating changes
make a cycle. As water goes through its cycle, it can be a
solid (ice), a liquid (water), or a gas (water vapor). Ice can
change to become water or water vapor. Water can change
to become ice or water vapor. Water vapor can change to
become ice or water.
How do these changes happen? Adding or subtracting heat
makes the cycle work. If heat is added to ice, it melts. If
heat is added to water, it evaporates. Evaporation turns
liquid water into a gas called water vapor.
Stages in a Water Cycle.
There are four main stages in the water cycle. They are evaporation, condensation,
precipitation and collection. Let's look at each of these stages.
 Evaporation or Transpiration : This is when warmth from the sun causes
water from oceans, lakes, streams, ice and soils to rise into the air and turn into
water vapour (gas). Water vapour droplets join together to make clouds while
transpiration is the process where plants absorb water through the roots and then
give off water vapor through pores in their leaves.
 Condensation: This is when water vapour in the air cools down and turns back
into liquid water.
 Precipitation: This is when water (in the form of rain, snow, hail or sleet) falls
from clouds in the sky.
 Collection or Accumulation: This is when water that falls from the clouds as
rain, snow, hail or sleet, collects in the oceans, rivers, lakes, streams. Most will
infiltrate (soak into) the ground and will collect as underground water.
An Example of Water Evaporating
An Example of Water Condensing
An Example of Water Precipitation
An Example of Water Collection