The Water Cycle
Key Ideas
Vocabulary
The Sim
100

The proces by which a gas changes into a liquid

Condensation

100

When liquid water becomes warmer, it can evaporate and become _____________.

Water Vapor

100

A measure of how hot or cold something is

Temperature

100

What do the yellow arrows represent in the simulator?

Energy

200

rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls from clouds onto the ground

Precipitation

200

The more an air parcel loses energy and cools, the more ____________________ can happen.

Rainfall

200

Conditions such as rain, clouds and wind at a particular time and place

Weather

200

True or False: Clouds can form and have no rain in the Sim.

True

300

The process by which liquid water becomes a gas

Evaporation

300

All air contains _____________.

Water

300

To move from one object to another or one place to another

Transfer

300

What happened to the temperature in the air parcel as a cloud formed?

It decreased.

400

In order for condensation to happen (water vapor changing to liquid water), the temperature must ___________.

Decrease

400

Energy transfers from warm air in the air parcel to the colder surrounding air. When does this energy transfer stop?

Energy transfer stops when the air parcel temperature is equal to the surrounding air temperature.

400

Water in gas form

Water vapor

400

Why does energy transfer eventually stop in the Sim?

It stops when the air parcel temperature is equal to the surrounding air.

500

The original source of energy that drives the water cycle

Energy from sun

500

What happens to water vapor in an air parcel when it cools?

It can condense into a liquid, which can form a cloud and rain.

500

Liquid water droplets suspended in the air

Cloud

500

Which way does the energy flow if the air parcel temperature is 10C and the surrounding air is -20C?

Energy travels out from the air parcel to the surrounding air.

M
e
n
u