Water cycle

• Water cycle is the cyclic movement of water from the atmosphere to the Earth and back to the atmosphere through various processes.
• There are six important processes that make up the water cycle.

Condensation:

• Water vapour present in the atmosphere changes into water.

Infiltration:

• Infiltration is an important process where rain water soaks into the ground, through the soil and underlying rock layers.

Runoff:

• Much of the water that returns to Earth as precipitation runs off the surface of the land, and flows down hill into streams, rivers, ponds and lakes.

Evaporation:

• Water changes from its liquid state into its gaseous state i.e. water vapour.

Precipitation:

• When the temperature and atmospheric pressure are favourable, the small droplets of water in clouds form larger droplets and precipitation occurs. The raindrops fall to the Earth. 

Transpiration:

• As plants absorb water from the soil, the water moves from the roots through the stems to the leaves.
• Once the water reaches the leaves, some of it evaporates from the leaves, adding to the amount of water vapour in the air.

Diagrammatic representation of water cycle