How Does The Water Cycle Works

How Does the Water
Cycle Work?
Contributor: Hannah Brooks. Resource ID: 12452
Do you ever think it's strange that water falls from the sky? How
does it get up there? And where does it go when it lands?
Follow a drop and learn how water comes and goes so you and
others can live!
CATEGORIES SUBJECT
Earth Science Science
LEARNING STYLE PERSONALITY STYLE
Visual Lion
GRADE LEVEL RESOURCE TYPE
Intermediate (3-5) Quick Query
Get It!
Describe your typical day. Where do you go? How do you
move? How would you like to follow a drop of water around to
see what kind of routine it follows? Think that idea is all wet? Try
it!
Your typical day may include breakfast in the kitchen, school

time, and some play time outside.
Each day in the life of a water molecule is different. Water is

recycled daily, constantly moving through the atmosphere and
along the surface of the Earth. This process is called the water
cycle.
If you missed, or would like to review, the first lesson in The

Hydrosphere, find it in the right-hand sidebar under Related
Lessons.
The water cycle has a couple of different processes that you
might be unfamiliar with, and some that you know all too well!
Precipitation happens when water falls from clouds to the
surface of the Earth. It can be in solid or liquid form, as either
snow, sleet, or rain.
Once the water reaches the ground, it can become runoff and
travel into bodies of water, or it can drip into the soil and
become groundwater. When rain water falls and moves along
the surface of the Earth, it picks up chemicals and other
materials along the way as it flows into bodies of water. Runoff
from rain can be pretty dirty.
Groundwater accumulates over a long period of time as more
water moves down through the soil and is stored. The process
of water moving downward is called percolation. As water
moves down through the soil, chemicals and toxins are
removed, and that makes groundwater clean and safe to drink.
Water that is stored above ground can evaporate. During

evaporation, water moves from a liquid state to a gas. The gas
can then move up into the atmosphere and become part of a
cloud.
Water vapor in the atmosphere can condense into clouds when
the temperature drops. This is the same process as when a cold
drink gets water on the outside of the glass. When the cloud
warms back up, the water vapor can fall back to the ground as
precipitation.
Water stored in the ground can move into plants through the
roots in the soil.
Plants release water through a process called transpiration,
when water is released from the plant as a waste product. This
water moves back into the atmosphere and continues the water
cycle process.
The water cycle moves water through the atmosphere, ground,

and bodies of water. Water molecules continue to cycle through
each phase of the water cycle over and over again, constantly
being recycled. Water falls to the surface through precipitation,
where it either runs off into a body of water or into the ground.
Water can evaporate or move through the process of
transpiration using plants.
Create a quick diagram to show the phases of the water cycle

as you understand them. Share this with a parent or teacher
before moving to the Got It? section, where you will review
vocabulary words involved with the water cycle.
Got It?
As you see, water has daily routines just like you.
Water is recycled each day through processes like precipitation,

evaporation, and runoff.
The water cycle helps us understand how these processes are

related to one another. It is important to understand the
vocabulary words you learned in this lesson. A vocabulary
journal will help you organize these words. Take a sheet of paper
and draw a line down the middle so that you have two columns.
On the left side, write the following words:
Hydrologic
Condensation
Water Vapor
Precipitation
Surface Runoff
Percolation
Aquifer
Ground Water
Hover over and click on the words listed above in the image
provided on Summary of the Water Cycle, by the U. S.
Geological Survey, to get the definitions of each word. Rewrite
the meaning in your own words and add a picture in your
vocabulary journal. You can use the article to help put the words
in context if you are struggling to understand the meaning.
Once you feel confident that you know and understand the
words, test your abilities with the activity below!
How did creating the vocabulary journal help you succeed on
the vocabulary quiz? Were there words that were harder to
learn? How might creating pictures help you learn the meaning
of words?
Choose two of the words to compare. Share the differences

between the two words with a parent or teacher. How are the
meanings and processes they represent similar?
In the Go! section, you will use your understanding of these

words to write a journal from the point of view of a drop of water.
Go!
Now you see how water travels in a cycle on the Earth.
It is dropped through precipitation, taken back up into the air

through evaporation, and stored as ground water.
We are blessed that water is able to be recycled.
Now that you have learned about the water cycle, imagine being
a drop of water. How would you move through the environment?
1. Write a diary or journal entry from the point of view of a

drop of water.
2. You must include at least three steps of the water cycle in
your entry.
3. Use the meanings of the vocabulary words in the Got It?
section to help you describe your movement.
4. Your entry should be at least three paragraphs long, and
you may want to include a couple of sketches or pictures
to help your reader understand the story.
5. Share your finished product with a parent or teacher.
Brainstorm together ways that you could act out the story
as if it were a play or skit!
What would happen if water were no longer able to be cycled on

Earth? We would run out of drinking water, not be able to brush
our teeth, or have lakes to swim in! The water cycle keeps water
moving on Earth so that it is available when we need it!
The next time it rains, try to picture where those drops came
from and where they are going!

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How Does the Water

Intermediate (3-5) Quick Query

Your typical day may include breakfast in the kitchen, school

Each day in the life of a water molecule is different. Water is

If you missed, or would like to review, the first lesson in The

Water that is stored above ground can evaporate. During

The water cycle moves water through the atmosphere, ground,

Create a quick diagram to show the phases of the water cycle

Water is recycled each day through processes like precipitation,

The water cycle helps us understand how these processes are

Choose two of the words to compare. Share the differences

In the Go! section, you will use your understanding of these

It is dropped through precipitation, taken back up into the air

We are blessed that water is able to be recycled.

1. Write a diary or journal entry from the point of view of a

What would happen if water were no longer able to be cycled on

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