The Water Cycle

1. The Water Cycle

2. The Water Cycle • Describes the movement of water on, in, and above the earth • Water is always changing and moving from one place to another • This cycle is made up of a few main parts: • Precipitation • Infiltration • Runoff • Transpiration • Evaporation • Water Vapor • Condensation • Collection

3. What is the water cycle? • The repeating change of water on the Earth creates a cycle • As water goes through its cycle, it can be a solid (ice), a liquid (water), or a gas (water vapor) • Ice can change to become water or water vapor • Water can change to become ice or water vapor • Water vapor can change to become ice or water.

4. Precipitation • Happens when the temperature and the atmospheric pressure are right • The small droplets of water in clouds form larger droplets and precipitation occurs. The raindrops fall to earth. • Occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore • The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow • Click the speaker below to hear rain falling

5. Forms of Precipitation • Rain: Sleet: • Snow: Hail:

6. Infiltration • Important process where • rain water soaks into the • ground, through the soil and underlying rock layers • The flow of water from the • ground surface into the ground • Once infiltrated, the water • becomes soil moisture or • groundwater

7. Groundwater Flow • Movement of water underground is called groundwater flow • Groundwater slowly moves through the spaces and cracks between the soil particles on its journey to lower elevations

8. Runoff • The movement of land water to the oceans, mainly in the form of rivers, lakes, and streams • Consists of precipitation that neither evaporates, transpires nor penetrates the surface to become groundwater • Excess runoff can lead to flooding, which occurs when there is too much precipitation

9. Transpiration • Process that happens through plants • As plants absorb water from the soil, the water moves from the roots through the stems to the leaves • Once the water reaches the leaves, some of it evaporates from the leaves, adding to the amount of water vapor in the air.

10. Evaporation • The process where a liquid, in this case water, changes from its liquid state to a gaseous state. • The sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. • The water vapor or steam then leaves the river, lake, or ocean and goes into the air.

11. Water Vapor • Water in its gaseous state-instead of liquid or solid (ice) • Totally invisible • Extremely important to the weather and climate • Without out it, there would be no clouds or rain or snow • All of the water vapor that evaporates from the surface of the Earth eventually returns as precipitation - rain or snow

12. Condensation • Formation of liquid drops from water vapor • Occurs when a parcel of rising air expands and cools • Responsible for the formation of clouds • These clouds may produce precipitation, which is the primary route for water to return to the Earth's surface within the water cycle

13. Collection • When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land • When it ends up on land, it will either soak into the earth and become part of the “ground water” that plants and animals use to drink. • It may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts all over again.

14. How Do These Changes Happen? • Adding or subtracting heat makes the cycle work. • If heat is added to ice, it melts. If heat is added to water, it evaporates. • Evaporation turns liquid water into a gas called water vapor. • If heat is taken away from water vapor, it condenses. • Condensation turns water vapor into a liquid. • If heat is taken away from liquid water, it freezes to become ice.

15. Why the water cycle is important • Humans use water for drinking, respiration, perspiration, and elimination of wastes are all part of this cycle • Large amounts of water are needed for most economic activities: agriculture and mining, food processing, manufacturing • Lakes and rivers provide towns and cities with a means of discharging wastes

16. Why the Water Cycle is Important… Continued • Generation of electricity from thermal power plants • Waterways provide transportation • Recreational activities • Some people view the rivers and large lakes of this country as a part of their own identity • AND MUCH MORE!!!

17. Watch This Video To Learn More About The Water Cycle! Click the link below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1oCoKj7b2o

18. You can sing along! Click the link below to sing about the water cycle. http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=53bdf2518c53ddf3bce6

19. The Summary of the Hydrologic Cycle • The water cycle is called the hydrologic cycle. In the hydrologic cycle, water from oceans, lakes, swamps, rivers, plants, and even you, can turn into water vapor. • Water vapor condenses into millions of tiny droplets that form clouds. • Clouds lose their water as rain or snow, which is called precipitation. • Precipitation is either absorbed into the ground or runs off into rivers. • Water that was absorbed into the ground is taken up by plants. • Plants lose water from their surfaces as vapor back into the atmosphere. • Water that runs off into rivers flows into ponds, lakes, or oceans where it evaporates back into the atmosphere. • The cycle continues.

20. Now it’s your turn! Lets label the Water Cycle together! Condensation Evaporation Precipitation Runoff Infiltration Groundwater flow

21. Bibliography • The Water Cycle. Enchanted Learning. 1999-2008. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets/earth/watercycle.shtml • Water Cycle. Wikipedia. 2008. http://en.wkipedia.org/wiki/water_cycle • The Water Cycle. DLTK’s Sights. 1998-2007. http://www.kidzone.ws/water/ • You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/