Hydrologic Cycle (Water Cycle)

Runoff

Part of the water cycle where lots of water runs down and does not sink into the soil and eventually makes it to the rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Precipitation

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface like hail, snow, sleet and rain.

Transpiration

Evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant.

Infiltration

Flow of water from the surface of the Earth into the ground; rain water soaks into the ground.

Condensation

The change of a gas to liquid; gas gets colder and changes back to liquid , this is how water vapor in the atmosphere forms clouds.

Evaporation

The change of a liquid to a gas; the sun's heat turns liquid water into water vapor (gas).

Water cycle

The cycle through which water moves; includes such processes as evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and surface and groundwater runoff and infiltration.

Sun's Heat

The energy that makes the water cycle work.

Gravity

The force that pulls water downhill after a big precipitation event or causes rain to fall from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface.

Ground Water

Water that has seeped through the surface and is now underground.