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.