Objective: You will know that water is always being recycled because of the water cycle.

You will be working in teams to complete all sections of the challenge. You will be competing against the other groups in the class. You may work in groups of up to four people (no more, so don’t ask!). Here we go!

For Part 1- Please number your paper from 1-7. Read through each riddle and decide where in the water cycle the water molecule is. Your choices for each riddle will be: EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

I am liquid. I am sitting on the leaf of an aspen tree. As the sun heats me up, I gain energy and change from a liquid to a gas. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

I am liquid. I have just fallen from the sky and hit the Earth with a great thud. I am now making my way down what looks like a river bed. There are many other water drops with me and it appears we are heading towards some large body of water. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

I am a gas. I have floated up high into the atmosphere. Wow, it is getting cold! The higher I go, the colder it is getting. I can feel myself losing energy quickly. Then, the transformation hits me. I am no longer a gas. I have changed back into liquid water and have joined with other water drops to form a cloud. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

I just finished my journey in the river. I am now in a large body of water. Things seem pretty calm for a change. I think I might stay for a while, enjoy the sunshine, and relax before I evaporate back up into the atmosphere. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

My rest and relaxation is over. I am still a liquid and am still in the large body of water. However, the sun has been shining all day and I am gaining a lot of energy. I know what’s going to happen next. I begin to get so excited that I break away from the rest of the water and begin floating up into the atmosphere. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

Wow it is dark down here. I have not seen the sun for several weeks. I am not alone however. I am here with a whole bunch of other water molecules. We came here after a nice long rain about a month ago. It took a while for us to make our way down to this place. Some are calling it an aquifer. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

I am still up in the clouds (literally). I found a nice dust particle to hang out with and several other water molecules have joined us as well. I can feel that we are getting heavier and heavier. Finally, we are just too big and gravity pulls us down to Earth. It is warm enough that we remain liquid. If it was just a bit colder though, I think we would freeze into a solid. What part of the water cycle am I in? EvaporationPrecipitation TranspirationRunoff CondensationWater Storage Groundwater

For part 2, please number your paper from Listen carefully to each statement. Talk with your group members to determine whether the statements are true or false. Good luck!

8. It is possible to die from drinking too much water. 9. The same water that existed millions of years ago is still here today (for the most part). 10. Oceans cover nearly 91% of Earth’s surface. 11. Less than 1% of the water on Earth is freshwater that is available for humans to use. 12. There are some species of animals on Earth that do not need water to live. 13. About 97% of Earth’s water is salt water.

14. Humans should consume about 5 cups of water a day. 15. The average person in the U.S. uses between gallons of water each day. 16. Most of the water the U.S. uses is for drinking and bathing (showering). 17. Water dissolves more substances than any other liquid. 18. The deepest ocean is the Atlantic Ocean.

19. List three ways that groundwater makes it back to the surface. 20. What two things drive the water cycle?