Water on Earth

The Water Cycle

The Science of the
Water Cycle
3 States of Water

Gas – Water
Vapor

Solid – ice

Liquid -water
 Middleschoolchemistry.com

3 States of Water
 Solid- molecules packed together and
vibrating very slowly

Ice anima
tion
 Middleschoolchemistry.com

Liquid
 Molecules loosely packed and sliding
past each other

Compare
a solid an
d a liquid
animation
 Middleschoolchemistry.com

Vapor (gas)
 Molecules are spread far apart and
moving fast
Comparing s
olid, liquid,
gas animatio
n
How does water change state?
 By adding or removing heat energy
 Add energy
 (think Energy In)

 Remove energy
 (think Energy Exits)
Heating and cooling of a solid animation
Heating and cooling of a liquid melting ice animation
Heating and cooling of a gas
Changing States
Is energy added or removed?
 Ice melting- energy is ________
 Water freezing- energy is _________
 Water boiling- energy is __________

Adding and removing energy

Where does this “energy” come from to
change the state the water is in?

 This process is driven by the sun and its

energy
Water Cycle
 Water Cycle Video
What is the Water Cycle?
 The continuous movement of water into
the air, onto land, and back into the air
over and over again

Water Cycle
Water Cycle- Evaporation
 The sun heats up liquid water
and turns it into water vapor (gas)
 Water vapor is invisible

The “smoke” we see

is from the vapor
condensing…

Evaporation animation
Water Cycle- Transpiration
Do plants sweat?
 Well, sort of.... people perspire (sweat) and plants
transpire. 
 Transpiration is the process by which plants
lose water out of their leaves. 
 Transpiration gives evaporation
a bit of a hand in getting the water
vapor back up into the air.
Water Cycle- Condensation
 Water vapor in the air gets cold and
changes back into liquid, forming clouds

Condensation animation
Water Cycle- Precipitation
 The solid or liquid water that
Falls from the air to the surface
-rain, snow, sleet, hail…
Water Cycle- Runoff
 Water that flows across land and
collects in rivers, streams, and
eventually the ocean
Water Cycle- Groundwater

 Water
located
within the
rocks below
the Earth’s
surface
 Changing states in the
Water Cycle
 Evaporation- energy is_________
 Condensation- energy is __________
 Transpiration- energy is ___________
Water Everywhere!
Water is MATTER.
-What is matter?
It has Mass and Volume.
Conservation of Matter
Water cannot be created, nor destroyed.
It cycles. It changes state (remember
the 3 phases- solid, liquid, gas) it never
decreases or increases in total amount.

We do not have more or less water now

than we did millions of years ago!!

The Water Cycle just keeps going, and

going, and going, and going……
More examples of Conservation
of Matter

 Rock cycle
 Weathering/Erosion/Deposition
 Plate tectonics