The Water Cycle
A cycle is an event that repeats itself over and over again in the same order. When the sun shines, some of the water in the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers rises into the sky and this is called evaporation. The light water vapour rises, cools and condenses into tiny droplets and forms a cloud. This is known as condensation. The wind blows the cloud. When it reaches a mountain, the cloud is forced to rise higher in the sky. The higher up the cloud moves the cooler the air becomes. The cloud becomes too heavy and is no longer able to carry the droplets so it fall as rain. This is called precipitation. Other forms of precipitation are snow, dew, frost, hailstone and sleet. The rain is carried in streams and rivers back to the sea and the cycle starts again.
Let's follow the water cycle on the map.
How would you prove that air contains water?
Try this experiment to help you answer the question.
1. Place some ice-cubes in a jar.
2. Close the jar tightly.
3. After a few minutes you will notice that the outside of the jar is wet. How did this happen?
Explanation: The ice-cubes cooled the air and the glass. When the warm air in the room came in contact with the cold glass condensation took place.
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