The Water Cycle

I. Evaporationn
A. The process starts with the heat of the sun.

A. The heat of the sun causes water to turn into water vapor.

A. Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid into a gaseous phase.

I. Condensation
A. Water rises into the atmosphere.

A. Water cools down while rising due to decreasing temperature.

A. Cooling water condenses to form tiny droplets of water.

A. It is the exact opposite of evaporation

I. Precipitation
A. Tiny water droplets from condensation accumulate in clouds.

A. When a cloud can no longer accommodate any more water, the water
is released.

A. Released water can be in the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.

A. Hailstones are usually the size of small rocks but they can get as
large as 6 inches.
I. Run-off
A. Water that falls back to the surface of the earth can remain on the
surface of the earth.

A. Water that falls back to the earth can sometimes flow off the
surface into different bodies of water.

A. Examples of the bodies of water would be rivers, lakes, and

reservoirs.
I. Transpiration
A. Plants absorb water from the soil and transport it to the leaves via the stem.

A. Evaporating water from the leaves and stems of plants is transpiration.

A. It is said that there is somewhere close to 422,000 flowering plants on the earth.
I. Infiltration
A. When surface water seeps into the ground, this is called infiltration.

A. It later forms aquifers in low-lying regions.

A. Infiltration can cause erosion in some parts of the earth.