The Water Cycle Tutorial Did you ever… wonder why it rains? think about where hail comes from? want to know what kinds of clouds are in the sky? find facts about weather interesting? If you are curious, click here to learn more.

What is the water cycle? The water cycle describes the journey water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky and back again.

Objectives of this tutorial Be able to understand that the water cycle is a continuous process. Define evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Identify basic cloud types. Explain weather that accompanies certain clouds.

A Continuous Cycle Have you drank a glass of fresh water recently? The water in your glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around pretty much as long as the earth has!   When the first fish crawled out of the ocean onto the land, your glass of water was part of that ocean.  When the Brontosaurus walked through lakes feeding on  plants, your glass of water was part of those lakes.  When kings and princesses, knights and squires took a drink from their wells, your glass of water was part of those wells. The water cycle never stops. The water is constantly being recycled and reused! This will make you think when you take another drink!

Evaporation Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake, or ocean and goes into the air. Part one of the water cycle

Transpiration Do plants sweat? People 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.

Condensation Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds.  Clouds come in many shapes and forms. Some are high in the sky, while others are so low they touch the ground. No matter what shape or elevation, clouds form the same way, by having water vapor condense onto small solid particles like dust, sea salt, and pollution. Part 2 of the Water Cycle

Types of Clouds Cirrus Clouds Cirrus clouds are very wispy and feathery looking. Stratus Clouds Stratus clouds are horizontal, layered clouds that stretch out across the sky like a blanket. Cumulus Clouds Cumulus clouds are the puffy clouds that look like puffs of cotton. Turn the page to find out what type of weather these clouds bring!

Oh wow! Look at those clouds! Cirrus clouds are the most common of the high clouds. They are composed of ice and consist of long, thin, wispy streamers. Cirrus clouds are usually white and predict fair weather. Sometimes called mares tails, they stream with the wind. By watching the movement of cirrus clouds you can tell from which direction weather is approaching. The appearance of cirrus clouds usually indicates that a change in weather will occur within 24 hours. What do Cirrus clouds indicate? Fair weather Which direction weather is approaching A change in weather may be on the way.

Is Fog a Cloud? What do stratus clouds indicate? Rain or light mist Stratus clouds are uniform gray in color and almost cover the entire sky. Light mist or drizzle is sometimes associated with Stratus clouds. A Stratus cloud touching the ground is fog. What do stratus clouds indicate? Rain or light mist Fog

Big Bad Whipped Cream What do cumulus clouds indicate? Fair weather is here. Tall, vertical ones may bring huge storms. Vertically developing clouds are the Cumulus (puffy) type. These small, lumpy clouds are low "fair weather" clouds. However, as they develop vertically (up) they may go from small, fair weather clouds to large, boiling, vertically-growing monsters called cumulonimbus. These clouds are known as storm clouds which bring heavy rain, snow, hail, lightning, and tornadoes.

Precipitation Rain or Snow???   Rain occurs when tiny cloud droplets collide to form bigger droplets.  This keeps happening until the droplet is too heavy for the air to support it.  The droplet then begins to fall, colliding with more cloud droplets as it gains in size.  If the liquid water does not encounter a deep layer of sub-freezing air, it will remain liquid and fall to the ground as rain.     Snow occurs when the layer of the atmosphere from the surface of the earth through the cloud is entirely below freezing.  The precipitation falls from the cloud as snow and does not melt at all while falling to the ground. 

The Water Cycle Part 2 of the Water Cycle Part 3 of the Water Cycle

Show what you know! On your paper, complete the following assessment activities. Click on the button if you need help. Once you are done getting information, click to come back to this activity page. List the three parts of the water cycle. Draw pictures of the 3 main types of clouds and compare with what you see in the sky today. Explain. Why do you think it sometimes sleets instead of rains. Look outside. What is the current weather? Describe any precipitation, clouds, winds, general temperature. Based on the clouds you see, describe what kind of weather we may have. How could you have swam in the same water as Jesus Christ? Describe your favorite type of weather. What type of clouds would you see in the sky? Would you have precipitation? If so, what type? What would the temperature would be?

The Water Cycle Tutorial! Good Job on completing The Water Cycle Tutorial! Prepared by Mrs.Gayle Burrer All Saints Catholic School For EDU 613 4/3/06