Water Cycle Concepts Flashcards
What are the three different forms or states of water on Earth?
The three different forms or states of water on Earth are solid liquid and gas.
What is the solid form of water?
The solid form of water is solid ice.
What is the liquid form of water?
The liquid form of water is liquid water.
What is the gas form of water?
The gas form of water is water vapor.
What is the water cycle?
The water cycle is the set of processes that water goes through as it changes from one state to another.
What happens to water when the heat of the sun shines on oceans lakes rivers and streams?
When the heat of the sun shines on water in oceans lakes rivers and streams the water evaporates rising up into the air as water vapor.
What occurs to water vapor as it moves higher into the sky?
As water vapor moves higher into the sky it cools.
What process involves cooled water vapor forming liquid drops that gather as clouds?
This process is called condensation.
What term describes any form of water that falls from the sky?
Any form of water that falls from the sky is called precipitation.
What is the most common form of precipitation?
The most common form of precipitation is rain.
Under what conditions do raindrops remain as rain?
Raindrops remain as rain if they fall through air that is warmer than water’s freezing point.
What happens when cold temperatures inside clouds produce ice crystals?
When cold temperatures inside clouds produce ice crystals they may melt in warmer air on their way down ending up as rain.
What are tiny frozen drops that form when raindrops fall through air below the freezing point?
Tiny frozen drops that form when raindrops fall through air below the freezing point are known as sleet.
Under what conditions do ice crystals form and fall as snowflakes?
Ice crystals form and fall as snowflakes when the air inside the cloud and the air on the way down are both below the freezing point.
How does temperature affect the variation in snow?
Warmer temperatures mean wetter snow while colder temperatures mean drier fluffier snow.
How is hail formed?
Hail forms when windy conditions combine with freezing temperatures causing drops of frozen rain to be repeatedly caught up by the wind and pushed back up through the clouds where they gather more layers of ice.
What happens to precipitation after it falls?
Much of the precipitation becomes runoff and finds its way back to the sea while the rest joins surface water in lakes and streams or soaks into the ground to become groundwater.
What can happen to water atop tall mountains?
Some water will spend time atop tall mountains as ice and snow.
What does the water cycle do continuously?
The water cycle continuously changes water from one state to another.
Does the water cycle ever end?
The water cycle never ends.
What are the stages of the water cycle mentioned in the text?
The stages of the water cycle mentioned in the text are evaporation condensation and precipitation.
What conditions are necessary for snow to fall?
The air inside the cloud and the air on the way down must both be below freezing.
