The Water Cycle, continued

Evaporation is when the sun heats up the water in rivers, lakes or the ocean and turns it into water vapour. The evaporation of water increases with heat and wind.

Transpiration occurs when small amounts of water vapour are released into the atmosphere from the leaves of plants, and from humans and other animals breathing.

High up in the atmosphere the cold air causes the water vapour to condense and form clouds. This is called condensation. Condensation occurs at ground level too, in the form of dew and fog.

Precipitation happens when the condensed water particles join together to form large droplets. These water droplets can no longer stay suspended in the air and fall back to the ground or sea in the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.

When water falls back to earth it either soaks into the ground to become groundwater, evaporates, or runs off the land back into streams, rivers, lakes and the sea. This is called collection.

Then the water cycle starts all over again.

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