The Water Cycle By Claudete Garcia What Is
The Water Cycle By Claudete Garcia
What Is a cycle? When scientists talk about cycles, they are talking about sequences of events that repeat themselves. Some cycles are very simple. For example, the seasons of the year represent a cycle in that they always repeat – Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, and then back to Winter.
Our planet Earth is covered with water Approximately three-fourths of the Earth is water.
Where is it found? • Water comes from several places. Oceans Rivers Lakes Ponds
Water never leaves the Earth. It is constantly being cycled through the atmosphere, ocean, and land. This process, known as the water cycle, is driven by energy from the sun. The water cycle is crucial to the existence of life on our planet.
The Water Cycle
During part of the water cycle, the sun heats up liquid water and changes it to a gas by the process of evaporation. Water that evaporates from Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist soil rises up into the atmosphere.
The process of evaporation from plants is called transpiration. (In other words, it’s like plants sweating. )
As water (in the form of gas) rises higher in the atmosphere, it starts to cool and become a liquid again. This process is called condensation. When a large amount of water vapor condenses, it results in the formation of clouds.
When the water in the clouds gets too heavy, the water falls back to the earth. This is called precipitation.
When rain falls on the land, some of the water is absorbed into the ground forming pockets of water called groundwater. Most groundwater eventually returns to the ocean. Other precipitation runs directly into streams or rivers. Water that collects in rivers, streams, and oceans is called runoff.
Condensation The movement through plants The Clouds form Transpiration Precipitation The rain falls Evaporation The vapor rises
Let’s review the vocabulary Condensation is when warm air collides with cold air and droplets form. Precipitation are droplets that after being condensed begin to fall to the earth in the form of rain, sleet, hail, glaze, or snow. Evaporation is the process of liquid water becoming vapor. Transpiration is the evaporation of water from plants. Runoff is the movement of landwater to the oceans, chiefly in the form of rivers, lakes, and streams.
Now it is time to watch a movie
Now let’s play the Water Cycle Game !
Time to complete the Activity Page: Label the parts of the water cycle A C B B D E F G H
- Slides: 22