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Enrichment: Earth’s Hydrosphere

Read the passage and study the diagram below. Use a separate sheet of paper to answer the
questions that follow.

What do your body and Earth have in common? Both require energy to make something
happen or get something moving. Energy is generated by an energy source such as the sun or
deep within Earth’s interior. With the help of energy, nutrients are moved to your body’s
systems. On Earth, matter is moved, or cycled, by energy that flows through Earth’s systems,
such as the rock or water cycles. In this way, things happen all around us. The wind blows, rain
falls, and plants grow.

The diagram below shows the yearly global flow of water through Earth’s hydrosphere by the
water cycle. The numbers represent the amount of evaporation and precipitation over the
oceans and over the land.

Analyze and Interpret Data

1. Reason Quantitatively How does global evaporation compare to global precipitation?

2. Describe Patterns Does more precipitation occur over oceans or over land? Explain.

3. Identify What form of energy is responsible for producing changes that occur in Earth’s
hydrosphere?

4. Explain Phenomena Describe how energy is involved in the cycling of matter in the

hydrosphere.

Enrichment
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