KEMBAR78
Water Cycle and State Changes | PDF | Water | Evaporation
Scribd
Upload
75 views5 pages

Water Cycle and State Changes

The document summarizes the water cycle, which describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the Earth's surface. Water changes states between liquid, gas, and solid as it moves through the cycle, but the total amount of water remains constant. The stages of the water cycle are evaporation, where water evaporates from bodies of water and transpiration occurs through plants; condensation, where water vapor condenses to form clouds; precipitation, where water falls as rain, snow, or hail; infiltration, where rainwater gets absorbed into the ground; and runoff, where water flows downhill into rivers, lakes, and oceans to complete the cycle.

Uploaded by

tanishkasadhu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
75 views5 pages

Water Cycle and State Changes

The document summarizes the water cycle, which describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the Earth's surface. Water changes states between liquid, gas, and solid as it moves through the cycle, but the total amount of water remains constant. The stages of the water cycle are evaporation, where water evaporates from bodies of water and transpiration occurs through plants; condensation, where water vapor condenses to form clouds; precipitation, where water falls as rain, snow, or hail; infiltration, where rainwater gets absorbed into the ground; and runoff, where water flows downhill into rivers, lakes, and oceans to complete the cycle.

Uploaded by

tanishkasadhu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Materials and their structure

Types of Changes of State


Measuring Temperature
Temperature measures the speed of the molecules in matter. A thermometer
measures temperature. Record the temperature on the thermometers in degree
Celsius. (Please don’t draw the diagram given below, just write the answers as
practice)
Water Cycle
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle,
describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of
the Earth. During this process, water changes its state from one phase to another,
but the total number of water particles remains the same. In other words, if it were
possible to collect and boil 100 gms of water, it will still retain a mass of 100 gms as
steam. Likewise, if 100 gms of steam is collected and condensed, the resultant water
would still weigh 100 gms.

Stages of Water Cycle

1. Evaporation

The sun is the ultimate source of energy, and it powers most of the evaporation that
occurs on earth. Evaporation generally happens when water molecules at the surface of
water bodies become excited and rise into the air. These molecules with the highest
kinetic energy accumulate into water vapour as clouds. Evaporation usually takes place
below the boiling point of water. Another process called evapotranspiration occurs
when evaporation occurs through the leaves of plants. This process contributes to a
large percentage of water in the atmosphere.

2. Condensation

The water vapour that accumulated in the atmosphere eventually cools down due to the
low temperatures found at high altitudes. These vapours become tiny droplets of water
and ice, eventually coming together to form clouds.

3. Precipitation

Above 0 degrees centigrade, the vapours will condense into water droplets. However, it
cannot condense without dust or other impurities. Hence, water vapours attach itself on
to the particle’s surface. When enough droplets merge, it falls out of the clouds and onto
the ground below. This process is called precipitation (or rainfall). In particularly cold
weather or extremely low air pressure, the water droplets freeze and fall as snow or hail.

5. Infiltration

Rainwater gets absorbed into the ground through the process of infiltration. The level of
absorption varies based on the material the water has seeped into. For instance, rocks
will retain comparatively less water than soil. Groundwater can either follow streams or
rivers. But sometimes, it might just sink deeper, forming aquifers (an aquifer is a body of
rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater).

6. Runoff

If the water from rainfall does not form aquifers, it follows gravity, often flowing down the
sides of mountains and hills; eventually forming rivers. This process is called runoff. In
colder regions, icecaps form when the amount of snowfall is faster than the rate of
evaporation or sublimation. The biggest icecaps on Earth are found at the poles.

All the steps mentioned above occur cyclically with neither a fixed beginning nor an end.

You might also like