Science Common Sense

668 - How does the water cycle work?

The water cycle is like a big circle. Here's how it works:

1. The sun heats the Earth's surface: It makes the water in the oceans, lakes, and rivers get warmer and turn into water vapor. This is called evaporation.

2. The water vapor rises into the air: It forms clouds, and as more water vapor rises, the clouds get bigger and bigger.

3. The clouds get too heavy: The water vapor in the clouds turns back into liquid water and falls to the ground as rain or snow.

4. The rain or snow falls to the ground: Some of it flows across the land as runoff and eventually returns to the oceans, lakes, and rivers. Some of it also seeps into the soil, where plants can use it to grow.

5. The cycle starts again: The water that seeps into the soil or flows back into the oceans, lakes, and rivers can evaporate again, starting the cycle all over.

That's the water cycle. Pretty cool, huh?