Water Cycle Basics
What is the name of the process that moves water through the environment?
What is the water cycle?
The process of liquid water becoming a gas is called…
What is evaporation?
Where is most of Earth’s water stored?
What are oceans?
Why does a cold glass look like it’s “sweating”?
Water vapor condenses on it.
What do clouds form around in the atmosphere?
Dust and salt particles.
What provides the energy that drives the water cycle?
What is the sun?
The process of a gas turning into a liquid is called…
What is condensation?
What is groundwater?
Water stored underground.
What do we call a cloud that forms near the ground?
What is fog?
What might happen if precipitation falls faster than the ground can absorb?
What is flooding or runoff?
What is water vapor?
What is water in gas form?
Water falling from the sky as rain, snow, or hail is called…
What is precipitation?
What can form from frozen precipitation and store water for a long time?
What is a glacier?
What happens to puddles after it rains and the sun comes out?
They evaporate.
Can water change states more than once in the cycle?
Yes, many times.
What happens to water vapor when it cools?
It condenses into liquid water.
What is it called when water comes off of plant leaves?
What is transpiration?
What is an aquifer?
A layer of rock or soil that holds groundwater.
What causes dew to form in the morning?
Condensation on cool surfaces.
Why is the water cycle considered a cycle?
Because water moves in a continuous loop.
What is the name for the mixture of gases that surrounds Earth?
What is the atmosphere?
What is it called when water flows across the land into streams and rivers?
What is runoff?
Why are aquifers important in the water cycle?
They store water underground that can be used by people, plants, or return to the surface later.
Why might water move slowly after falling as rain?
It soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater.
What are three things that can happen to water after it rains?
It can evaporate, become runoff, or soak into the ground (groundwater).