Water Cycle Study Guide
My quiz will be on __________________

What is the water cycle?

Be able to list the 3 stages in the water cycle (in order),explain what happens in that stage,
know what state of matter water is in in each stage, and what you call water in that stage. Also
understand where runoff is in the cycle.

Be able to tell what “powers” the water cycle. Where does the water cycle get its energy from?

Know how much of Earth’s water is fresh water and how much is salt water.

Be able to describe the changes that happen to water during condensation, precipitation, and
evaporation

Recall the results from our class experiments in water evaporation (red food coloring).,
temperature vs. color, and condensation (bowl of ice).

How does water conservation help humans? Why is it important not to pollute our
ground/groundwater?
Water Cycle Study Guide KEY

What is the water cycle?
The water cycle is the changes and movement of Earth’s water.

Be able to list the 3 stages in the water cycle (in order),explain what happens in that stage,
know what state of matter water is in in each stage, and what you call water in that stage.
See above diagram. Evaporation is water changing from liquid to gas (water vapor). Condensation is
water condensing as it changes from gas to liquid (droplets) or gas to solid (ice crystals). Precipitation is
water falling from the sky as a solid or liquid. Runoff happens after precipitation and will allow large
amounts of rain to drain into rivers/lakes/oceans.

Be able to tell what “powers” the water cycle. Where does it get its energy from?
The sun powers the water cycle.

Know how much of Earth’s water is fresh water and how much is salt water.
97% of Earth’s water is salt water and 3% is freshwater.

Be able to describe the changes that happen to water during condensation, precipitation, and
evaporation
Water changes from liquid to gas in evaporation. Water changes from gas to liquid in condensation,
water droplets stick together and fall in precipitation. If the temperature is below freezing, the liquid
states are then solid states.

Recall the results from our class experiments in water evaporation (red food coloring).,
temperature vs. color, and condensation (bowl of ice).
In Science court, we learned that condensation is water forming outside of the pipe (not the pipe leaking)
and we learned that salt and food coloring won’t evaporate with the water it’s in. We also studied the
difference in evaporation between tall, narrow containers and wide, flat ones (tall, narrow ones keep the
water from evaporating more). We learned that lighter colors don’t get as warm in the sun as darker
colors do (because the lighter colors reflect the sun’s energy). We learned that cold particles will allow
water vapor to condense.

How does water conservation help humans? Why is it important not to pollute our ground
We learned that conserving water means to use as little as needed, not contaminate it with chemicals,
allow storm drains to only collect water (not leaves/trash), use it when it is least likely to evaporate and
irrigate farms if a reliable water source is nearby. Manmade lakes (from dams) are a good source of
energy, recreational water, controlling floods and storing water for use if needed.
If chemicals are sprayed on the ground, they may combine with the runoff and enter our water cycle and
contaminate lakes, rivers, oceans that we use for recreation or drinking water.