The water cycle: round and round
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What you will learn
By the end, you can name the water cycle stages and explain how a drop of water travels round and round.
After the rain, a puddle sat on the playground. By lunchtime it had shrunk. By home time it was gone. The water did not vanish — it turned into vapour, rose into the sky, and began a long round trip called the water cycle.
Read the explanation
The sun warms water in the sea, lakes and rivers and turns it into invisible water vapour. That is evaporation. High in the sky the vapour cools and turns back into tiny drops of water, forming clouds. That is condensation. When the drops grow big and heavy they fall as rain, snow or hail. That is precipitation. The water gathers in rivers, lakes and the sea, ready to start again.
- Evaporation: the sun turns water into vapour.
- Condensation: vapour cools into clouds.
- Precipitation: rain, snow, sleet or hail falls.
- The water gathers and the loop starts again.