Water Cycle (6-8 Version)

Water flows down rivers and streams and is collected in lakes, oceans, and other water reservoirs. Water can also flow and be stored underground.

Water can evaporate into the air as water vapor and then condense and fall as rain, hail or snow. Clouds and fog also store and move water in the atmosphere.

The ocean stores the largest amount of the water on Earth’s surface. Large amounts of water from the ocean also evaporate into the atmosphere.

Gravity pulls rain and snow down to Earth from the atmosphere through a process called precipitation. Gravity also pulls water from elevated areas such as mountains and hills down into lakes, oceans, and water reservoirs.

The Sun’s energy heats water, causing the water to evaporate into a gas called water vapor.

Water can evaporate at many different points in the water cycle. It can also be taken in by plants and animals and moved or deposited in various locations. Water might be pulled down from mountains to flow into rivers by gravity or moved underground. Wind will move rain and clouds in the atmosphere, creating many different locations for water to fall as precipitation. All of the processes that move water in the water cycle can occur in various locations on Earth and on different time scales.

The energy from the Sun increases the energy of the water molecules when they are heated. This causes the water molecules to vibrate or move faster until some of them escape to become water vapor.

The Sun’s energy evaporates water into the atmosphere from all types of sources, including bodies of water, plants, and animals. This water eventually falls back to Earth and moves along Earth’s surface until it is evaporated again by the Sun. The energy from the Sun is a driving force that gets the water cycling in and out of the atmosphere.

Water travels from the soil, through the plant, and then evaporates from the leaves into the atmosphere.

When water vapor in the air loses heat or thermal energy to the atmosphere, the gas loses energy and changes its state to a liquid through a process called condensation. These tiny liquid water droplets are what form clouds.

Snowflakes form in cold temperatures when water vapor or water droplets begin to crystalize into solid water or ice. They can continue to grow bigger when more ice crystals are added until they eventually fall to Earth.

Water molecules today have been continuously cycling on Earth for millions of years. The same processes of evaporation, precipitation, and condensation that are happening today have been happening for millions of years