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How a water cycle works
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The water cycle
Earth's water is always in movement, and the water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes
the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Since the water cycle is truly a "cycle,"
there is no beginning or end. Water can change states among liquid, vapor, and ice at various places in the water cycle, with
these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years.
Evaporation:
Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary pathway that
water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor. Studies have shown that the oceans,
seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining 10
percent being contributed by plant transpiration.
Evaporation:
Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean
and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air.
Condensation:
Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called
condensation.
Precipitation:
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.
Collection:
When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers
or it may end up on land. When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the “ground
water” that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers where
the cycle starts
all over again.
Water follows six main ways of changing form:
*Melting (from snow,hail, ice)
*Vaporation (from lakes to build up to clouds)
*Condencing (from clouds to rain)
*Sodilfication / Freezing (from lakes to ice lakes) eg. In winter &cold weather
*Sublimation( when snow,hail, ice tuns to gas form) eg. the stem from snow,hail,
ice
*Deposition( when gas turns to snow,hail, ice) eg. water vapor in clouds become
snow,hail, ice
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