Water Cycle

  WHAT HAPPENS DURING THE WATER CYCLE? 
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<>Water is very important to our earth!  Most of our bodies are made up of it; however, the earth is limited to the amount of water.  Water goes around and around and around in a process called the water cycle.  This water cycle consists of a few main parts: 
                                                                

    • Evaporation
    • Precipitation
    • Condensation
    • Collection

Evaporation
    We can say that evaporation is very similar to the steam that comes up when boiling a pot of water.  The sun is very important in the process of evaporation.  The sun is like the stove in which it heats up the water of streams, lakes, rivers, and oceans.  When the water is heated enough it turns into vapor and steam.  In other words the streams, lakes rivers, and oceans go into the air.
                                                                              
Precipitation
Got rain?  Yes, precipitation is when water is gathered up in the air so much that it can not hold it any longer.  The next time your playing in the rain or snow remember that it's there thanks to precipitation.                                                           
                                                  
                                         
Condensation
Have you ever wondered how water gets on the outside of your cold water glass?  Well,  this is somewhat like what happens in the clouds.  Vapor in the air gets so cold that it condenses into the clouds and becomes liquid again.  Same as the glass, the air gets cold and becomes liquid out side of your water glass. 
                                                                              
Collection
What comes up must come down!  When water comes back down it falls right back to the earth, rivers, and oceans.  Then animals and plants get to use it all over again.  Recycled!!
                                               


Want to learn more about the water cycle?  See this website:
www.wrc.wa.gov.au/schools/water_cycle.html