water cycle

• what are the different stages in the water cycle?

  1. evaporation/transpiration
  2. condensation
  3. precipitation
• why is the water cycle important?

  • living organisms require water. water cycle provides organisms with a continuous supply of water
• what happens during evaporation?

  • thermal energy from sun causes water in sea/lakes/oceans to evaporate
  • water also evaporates from plants [transpiration]
• what happens during condensation?

  • water vapour rises, cools down as it gets further up and condenses to form clouds
• what happens during precipitation?

  • water falls from the clouds in the form of typically rain but sometimes snow or hail
• what happens at the end?

  • the water is then drained back into the seas/lakes/oceans and the process repeats itself again