THE WATER CYCLE

Draw lines to connect the parts of the water cycle to a

description of the part

Rain, Snow, Sleet, Hail

EVAPORATION
Water vapor turning to liquid
CONDENSATION
Water flowing on the surface
PRECIPITATION of the land

INFILTRATION Plants are needed

TRANSPIRATION Water absorbing into the soil

Liquid changing states to a gas

SURFACE RUNOFF
The sun EVAPORATES the water from the
hydrosphere. Evaporation means turning from
liquid state to a gas state.

Water is now
water vapor, an
invisible gas
 EVAPORATION
Water changing states to a
gas (water vapor)

Heat is needed and speeds

up the process

Greater surface area

speeds up the process

Less humid air evaporates

quicker
EVAPORATES QUICKLY EVAPORATES SLOWLY
Write a “Q” on the picture if you think it will evaporate
quickly. Write an “S” if you think it will evaporate slowly.

Small surface area

Cloudy Day Dry air

Sunny Day Large surface area Humid air

 CONDENSATION

Water changing from a gas to a liquid!!!

Occurs when water vapor touches a cool surface.

Clouds form during condensation

 PRECIPITATION

RAIN
 PRECIPITATION

SNOW
 PRECIPITATION

SLEET
 PRECIPITATION

HAIL
SURFACE RUNOFF

WHAT IS IT?
Water flowing on the
surface of the land
 SURFACE RUNOFF IS MORE
LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN…
Water falls on a steep slope? Water falls on a gentle slope?

STEEP SLOPE IS CORRECT!!!

 Who do you think is moving faster?
The skier on the steep slope or the girl
on the gentle slope?
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see thi s picture.
Water on a
steep slope is
also moving
faster. It is
moving so fast
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
is will runoff QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

instead of are needed to see this picture.

absorb into the

ground
 SURFACE RUNOFF IS MORE
LIKELY TO OCCUR IN…
Urban Areas Agricultural Areas

QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

The correct answer is…

Urban areas
URBAN AREAS HAVE A LOT OF
CONCRETE
WATER CANNOT ABSORB INTO CONCRETE. IT HAS
TO RUNOFF.
 Surface Runoff is most likely
to occur in areas with…
Dense Vegetation Sparse Vegetation

Dense vegetation slows the water allowing it to

absorb into the soil. Sparse vegetation allows
the water to move more freely making surface
runoff more likely.
Surface Runoff is most likely when
moving over…
Less porous ground…sand More porous ground…gravel

YEAH

Porous means able to absorb fluid

Porosity—measure of the % of pore space in
rock and/or soil compared to its total volume
Which one can you
see more purple?
SAND

This one has more

GRAVEL
pore spaces and is
called more porous.
 Surface Runoff is most likely
to occur when the ground is…
saturated dry

CORRECT!!!
Surface runoff is most likely to
occur during a…
Torrential Downpour Gentle Rain

You solved the mystery

If the rainfall is extremely
intense, the surface runoff
becomes a flash flood.
Permeability—the ability of fluids (commonly water
and oil) to flow through a material (rock or soil)
 Ice often causes the ground to be impermeable

Water cannot seep into

the frozen ground
Surface Runoff is more likely to occur when the ground is
frozen
INFILTRATION

Infiltration is when
water absorbs
into the soil by
seeping into pore
spaces in the soil
and rock
 INFILTRATIONS IS MORE
LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN…
Water falls on a steep slope? Water falls on a gentle slope?

GENTLE SLOPE IS CORRECT!!!

 Who do you think is moving slower?
The skier on the steep slope or the girl
on the gentle slope?
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see thi s picture.
Water on a
gentle slope is
also moving
slower. It is
moving so
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
slowly it QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

begins to are needed to see this picture.

absorb into the

ground.
 INFILTRATION IS MORE
LIKELY TO OCCUR IN…
Urban Areas Agricultural Areas

QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

The correct answer is…

Agricultural Areas
AGRICULTURAL AREAS HAVE A
LOT OF CHURNED UP SOIL
CHURNED UP SOIL IS EASY FOR WATER TO
ABSORB INTO…INFILTRATION OCCURS!!!

QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
 Infiltration is most likely to
occur in areas with…
Dense Vegetation Sparse Vegetation

Dense vegetation slows the water allowing it to

absorb into the soil…INFILTRATION!!!
 Infiltration is most likely when
moving over…
Less porous ground…sand More porous ground…gravel

YEAH

Porous means able to absorb fluid

 Infiltration is most likely to
occur when the ground is…
saturated dry

CORRECT!!!
 Infiltration is most likely to
occur during a…
Torrential Downpour Gentle Rain

You solved the mystery

TRANSPIRATION
Transpiration is
water
evaporating
through the
leaves of plants
TRANSPIRATION

The small
openings on
the underside
of leaves are
called stomata
 TRANSPIRATION

During the winter, the

stomata get very small.
Less transpiration occurs.

During the summer,

the stomata get larger.
More transpiration
occurs