The Water Cycle
Science · Weather & Climate · conceptual
Understand the water cycle: the Sun heats water in oceans and lakes causing it to evaporate into water vapour, the vapour rises and cools to form clouds (condensation), and water falls back to Earth as rain, snow, or hail (precipitation) — then the cycle repeats
What mastery looks like
- Name the three main stages: evaporation, condensation, precipitation
- Explain the Sun's role in driving the water cycle
- Describe the water cycle as a continuous loop with no beginning or end
Check your understanding
Can The Water Cycle trace the journey of a raindrop — from the ocean being heated by the Sun, rising as invisible vapour, forming a cloud, and falling back down as rain — and explain it keeps going round and round?