The Water Cycle

So how does the water cycle work?

We conducted an experiment today to demonstrate this.

First we  boiled a pot of water to simulate the sun heating the water.

The water once heated turned into a gas (steam or water vapour). This process is called EVAPORATION.

The water vapour then rose into the air and hit the bowl (which contained ice). The bowl represented the atmosphere of the Earth. As the water vapour cooled on the bowl, it turned back into a liquid and formed tiny drops of water. This process is called CONDENSATION.

The little drops soon joined together and formed bigger drops of water which got too heavy to stick to the bowl. Gravity then forced the big drops to fall down, back into the pot of boiling water.  This process is called PRECIPITATION.

The underside of the bowl was like a cloud in the sky and the drops falling down were like rain.

Once the drops fall back in the pot, the whole cycle begins again.

....and that is the WATER CYCLE!