Unit 4: The Water Cycle
Review notes for Thursday's quiz. Focus on the four main processes and the energy that drives each one.
1. Evaporation
Heat from the sun turns liquid water in oceans, lakes and rivers into water vapor. Warmer temperatures and wind speed up evaporation.
2. Condensation
As water vapor rises it cools. Cooler air holds less vapor, so the vapor condenses onto tiny particles of dust and forms clouds. The same thing happens when droplets form on the outside of a cold glass.
3. Precipitation
Cloud droplets join together until they are heavy enough to fall as rain, snow, sleet or hail.
4. Collection
Water gathers in oceans, lakes, rivers and underground aquifers, where the cycle starts again.
Vocabulary
- Transpiration: water released by plants through their leaves
- Runoff: water flowing over land into bodies of water
- Infiltration: water soaking into the ground