The Water Cycle Flashcards
Evaporation
Change of liquid to a vapor or gas
Condensation
The changes from a gas state to a liquid state
Transpiration
(of a plant or leaf) the exhalation of water vapor through the stomata.
“plants lose more than 90 percent of their water through transpiration”
Atmosphere
The layer of gas surrounding planet earth that is held in place by gravity and composed of a limited number of elements, primarily nitrogen and oxygen.
Gravity
The force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth, or toward any other physical body having mass.
Groundwater
Water that collects in cracks and pores in underground soil and rock layers.
Surface water
1.
Water that collects on the surface of the ground.
2.
The top layer of a body of water.
Thermal energy
Thermal energy is the internal energy of an object due to the kinetic energy of its atoms and/or molecules. The atoms and/or molecules of a hotter object have greater kinetic energy than those of a colder one, in the form of vibrational, rotational, or, in the case of a gas, translational motion.
Crystallization
The formation a solution of highly ordered solid structures from particles.
Water Cycle
The cycle of processes by which water circulates between the earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and land, involving precipitation as rain and snow, drainage in streams and rivers, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration.
Precipitation
1.
CHEMISTRY
the action or process of precipitating a substance from a solution.
2.
rain, snow, sleet, or hail that falls to the ground.
Percolation
When water soaks into the ground and moves downward through spaces between soil and rocks.
Runoff
The draining away of water (or substances carried in it) from the surface of an area of land, a building or structure, etc.
Radiant energy
Radiant energy is energy that travels by waves or particles, particularly electromagnetic radiation such as heat or x-rays. An example of radiant energy is the source of energy used in radiation therapy.
