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The water cycle

Last updated about 2 years ago
6 questions
Formative Generation Completed!
Objective 1: Students should be able to explain, in their own words, the different stages of the water cycle including evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.
Hello, 6th graders! You have a cool mission today - to discover the mysterious journey of water on Earth, called the 'water cycle'. This cycle has four key stages, and we'll explore each one right now!The first stage is called 'evaporation'. This happens when the warmth of the Sun heats up water in our rivers, lakes, and oceans. The water changes from liquid to gas form and goes up into the air. It's like when you see steam rising from a pot of boiling water!Next, we have the second stage, 'condensation'. The water vapor cools down when it goes high up in the sky, and it changes back to a liquid, forming tiny droplets. You can imagine this like when you see the steam from your hot shower hit the cool mirror and turn into water droplets. All these droplets together form clouds.Thirdly, we have 'precipitation' - this is a fancy word for when water falls back down to Earth. It can come down as rain, snow, sleet, or hail, depending on the weather conditions. It's nature's way of watering the plants!The final stage of our adventure is 'collection'. The water that falls to the ground collects in bodies of water like rivers, lakes, and oceans, ready to start the whole cycle again. This is similar to you collecting water in a bucket.Together, these four stages make up the amazing water cycle, with each stage playing its part to keep our planet healthy. Remember, it's an everlasting cycle - water never really gets 'used up'; it just keeps going around and around! Isn't that fascinating?
1

What happens to water during the evaporation stage of the water cycle?

1

What is the term for the stage when water falls back down to Earth?

1

What happens to water during the collection stage of the water cycle?

Objective 2: Students should be capable of identifying the role of the sun in the water cycle and explain how changes in state (solid, liquid, gas) occur in the cycle.
The sun is really important in the water cycle! The water cycle is all about how water moves from the Earth to the air and back again. Here's how it works: Let's start with the ocean (because that's where most of Earth's water is). The sun heats up the water in the ocean, causing it to evaporate, or turn from liquid into gas. This gas, called water vapor, rises up into the sky. As the water vapor rises higher and higher, it starts to cool down. This cooling causes it to condensate, or change back from a gas into a liquid. It does this by forming tiny water droplets, which come together to make clouds. Now, if the clouds get really full of water, or if the temperature changes, the water droplets might get heavy enough to fall back down to the Earth as precipitation, like rain or snow. If that rain or snow falls on the ground, it can either soak into the Earth and become ground water, or it can return to the oceans and seas via rivers and streams, ready for the sun to start the cycle all over again! So you see, the sun is the powerhouse of the water cycle. It provides the energy needed to start the cycle by evaporating the water from the Earth's surface. Sounds like an amazing adventure, right? Remember, all these happen in the form of changes in state from solid to liquid to gas and back!
1

What is the role of the sun in the water cycle?

1

Water can change from a solid to a liquid to a gas in the water cycle.

1

What happens to the water droplets when the clouds get really full or if the temperature changes?