‘A heavy rainfall may leave many puddles on your street today. ‘Tomorrow, the puddles may slowly shrink and vanish under a warm, sunny sky. Several days later, clouds may again gather in the sky and produce rain that creates new puddles. These events illustrate the process known as the water cycle. The water oyele, also called the hydrologic cycle, is the continuous movement of water between the sur- face of Earth and the troposphere. The water cycle happens because of three repeating processes: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Evaporation is the process in which liquid water changes into invisi- ble water vapor (water in the form of a gas). Heat from sunlight makes evaporation happen. Transpiration is a special type of evapora- tion, In transpiration, water vapor is released to the air from the leaves of plants. Condensation is the process in which water vapor changes into liquid water. Condensation occurs as air with water vapor in it cools. Clouds are evidence of condensation, Clouds are formed when water vapor cools and condenses into tiny liquid water droplets. Precipitation occurs when water or a form of ice falls from the atmos- phere to Earth's surface. Precipitation forms when water droplets in clouds grow and become too heavy to slay in the atmosphere.