The Water Cycle

H2O
2 hydrogen and 1 Oxygen
Properties
Strong bonds
3 states
Liquid (water)
Solid (ice)
Gas (vapor)

Basic mechanisms
Into the atmosphere
Evaporation- mainly from oceans
Evapotranspiration- plants and soil
Sublimation- solid to vapor (glaciers)

Condensation into clouds precipitation

Back to oceans
Surface runoff to low points (rivers)

Infiltration groundwater seepage

Replenish aquifers
Springs
Absorbed by plant roots

What is groundwater?

Properties of Water
Boiling Point
Freezing Point
Polar bonds
Cohesion
Surface tension

Adhesion
Capillary action

Vocab
Closed system- water is neither created nor
destroyed exists as solid, liquid, or gas
Solid: ice
Liquid: Water
Gas: water vapor

Condensation: conversion of gas (vapor) to liquid

Steam from shower

Transpiration: process by which moisture is carried

through plants from roots to leaves where it
changes to vapor and released to atmosphere.

 Precipitation: condensed vapor falls to earth

driven by gravity
Rain, snow, hail, sleet

Evaporation: water changes from a liquid to gas

(vapor)
Boiling

Infiltration: process by which water on the ground

enters the soil

Interception: precipitation that does not reach the

soil
Absorbed by leaves in canopy or litter on forest floor

Sublimation: process of turning water from solid

to gaseous state

 Runoff: flow of excess stormwater or meltwater

across the earths surface

Permeability: ability of material to allow liquid or gas

to move through it
Similar to infiltration
Helium in a balloon

Watershed- physical barriers that separate water

flowing to different rivers, basins, or seas

Water Table: the level below which the ground is

saturated with water

Aquifer: a body of permeable rock that can contain

or transmit groundwater

Spring: any natural situation where water flows from

an aquifer to the Earths surface

 Ground water:

Glacier: snow accumulation > melting and

sublimation dense ice

 Cohesion: the attraction between molecules of

the same kind
Strong hydrogen bonds

Adhesion: the attraction between molecules of a

different kind
Capillary Action- important for plants

Polar Bonds: partial negative charge of oxygen

and partial positive charge near hydrogen
Think magnents