Name _________________________________________________

Date ______________________

The Water Cycle

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/mwater.htm
l
Where is Earths Water?
1. What does it mean that the Earth is a closed system, like a terrarium?
___________Gravity holds everything to earth._________________
2. How does the water amount from millions of years ago compare to todays water
amount? Its the same water thats been around for that amount of time and hasnt
ran down really any.
3. Out of all the water on Earth, what percentage is usable by humans? ____1.2_______
4.Of the water usable by humans, where is the largest percentage of that water found?
Oceans
5. Complete the following diagram:

Freshwater: 2.5% Surface water and other freshwater: 1.2% Atmospheric water: 3% Biological water: .26%
Rivers: .49% Swamps and marshes: 2.6% Soils moisture: 3.8%
6. Of the freshwater, where is most of the water tied up? Glaciers and ice caps.
7. Of the remaining freshwater, where is the largest majority of that water found?
___Ground water.________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
8. What percentage of freshwater is found as surface water? 1.2%
9. Compare the amount of freshwater to the amount of saltwater in cubic kilometers:
1377470000

How Much Water Is There?

1. How much of the Earths surface is covered by water? 71%_______________________
Besides the ocean, where else does water exist? air as water vapor, in rivers and lakes,
in icecaps and glaciers, in the ground as soil moisture and in aquifers, and even in you and
your dog.

2. Where does most of the water people and other life on Earth come from? Water
3. Compare the amount of groundwater to surface water: Comes from the ground
(ground water) surface water doesnt come from the ground.
4. What term is used for the storage place of groundwater? __Aquifer ________________
5. How is groundwater recharged? _______________Water cycle_____
6. How does groundwater recharge rivers? Water Cycle______________________
7. In 2005, how much surface water did the United States use? 80%___
8. In the same time period, how much groundwater did people use?
____20%_______________

The Water Cycle

What is another term used for the water cycle? The Hydrologic Cycle__________________
Atmosphere
1. Which two processes changes liquid water into vapor which then rises into the atmosphere?
Ground water storage and condensation
2. Which process produces the majority of the vapor in the atmosphere? Sublimation and
Desublimation.
3. What percentage of vapor does transpiration add to the atmosphere? _______10%________
4. If all the water in the atmosphere rained down and covered the Earth, how deep would it be?
__2.5cm___________
Condensation
1. Define condensation: process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water.
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Why is condensation an important part of the water cycle? because it is responsible for the
formation of clouds.

3. Besides clouds, what else can happen due to condensation? responsible for ground-level fog,
for your glasses fogging up when you go from a cold room to the outdoors on a hot, humid
day, for the water that drips off the outside of your glass of iced tea, and for the water on
the inside of the windows in your home on a cold day.
Evaporation
1. Define evaporation: by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
Where does most of the evaporated water come from? oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide
nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation, with the remaining
10 percent being contributed by plant transpiration.
2. What is necessary in order for evaporation to occur? Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation
to occur. Energy is used to break the bonds that hold water molecules together, which is
why water easily evaporates at the boiling point (212 F, 100 C) but evaporates much

more slowly at the freezing point.

3. What percentage of the water evaporated from the ocean is transported over land and falls as
precipitation? 70%_____________
4. How long does an evaporated water molecule stay in the air? ___________10 days___

Evapotranspiration
1. According to this website, define evapotranspiration: (beneath the diagram) _______________
defined as the water lost to the atmosphere from the ground surface, evaporation from the
capillary fringe of the groundwater table, and the transpiration of groundwater by plants
whose roots tap the capillary fringe of the groundwater table. ______________

2. Define transpiration: __________Water that evaporates from plants.

3. How much water in the atmosphere is due to transpiration: 10%
4. How does a plant transpire? Just as you release water vapor when you breathe, plants do,
too although the term "transpire" is more appropriate than "breathe."
5. How much can an oak tree transpire during one day? 109.5 gallons.______________

Freshwater Storage
1. What bodies of water does surface water include: Surface water includes the streams (of all
sizes, from large rivers to small creeks), ponds, lakes, reservoirs and canals (man-made
lakes and streams), and freshwater wetlands.
What processes are included in inflows to surface water? water in rivers and lakes is always
changing due to inflows and outflows. Inflows to these water bodies will be
from precipitation, overland runoff, groundwater seepage, and tributary inflows.

What processes are included in outflows of surface water? evaporation, movement of water
into groundwater, and withdrawals by people. Humans get into the act also, as people
make great use of surface water for their needs.

2.
Groundwater Discharge
1. Describe why groundwater is an important part of the water cycle: to flow in many streams
and rivers and has a strong influence on river and wetland habitats for plants and animals.
People have been using groundwater for thousands of years and continue to use it today,
largely for drinking water and irrigation

2. Where is the majority of groundwater found?;

Ground
3. When are aquifers formed? __When water reaches the ground and starts to collect.
4. Explain how water becomes part of the groundwater: _______It trickles beneath the Earths
surface._____
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What percentage of freshwater is groundwater? 30.1%___________________
Groundwater Storage
1. Where does most of the water in groundwater come from? Precipitation
2. Describe the difference between the saturated zone and the unsaturated zone: Saturated is
completely filled up, unsaturated isnt completely filled up with water.
3. What is the water table? How high or low the water is.
4. To what level would you have to dig to find water? dozens or thousands of feet deep

4. Label the diagram below:

Precipitation

Unsaturat
ed
zone
Soil zone

Recharge
to water
table.

Water table

Saturated Zone

Ice, Snow, and Glaciers

1. What is meat by storage, in relation to the water cycle? water that is locked up in its present
state for a relatively long period of time.

2. Where is the 90% of Earths ice mass found? Antarctica

3. Where is the rest of it found? Greenland
4. What majority of freshwater is held in ice caps and glaciers? 68%
Infiltration
1. What is happening to water during infiltration? portion of the water that falls as rain and snow
infiltrates into the subsurface soil and rock
2. What happens to water that infiltrates the shallow soil layer? It will remain there until eventually
finding a stream
3. What happens to the water that infiltrates deeper? It recharges groundwater aquifers
4. What is the greatest factor affecting infiltration? precipitation
5. What happens to rain, once the soil is saturated? It begins to run off

Oceans
1. What percentage of water is found in the ocean? 96.5%
2. What percentage of evaporated water comes from the ocean? 90%

Precipitation
1. What forms of water can precipitation take? form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
2. How does most precipitation fall? As liquid
3. What has to happen before water can fall as precipitation? It has to change from a gas to a
liquid
4. How do water droplets grow? Cohesion
5. Draw how raindrops actually look up to 3 mm:
Like a lima bean
Snowmelt Runoff
1. In what type of climates does snowmelt runoff play a significant role in streamflow? Warm
2. What percentage of freshwater in the western states comes from snowmelt runoff? 75%
Springs
1. What are springs a result of? aquifer being filled to the point that the water overflows onto
the land surface.

Streamflow
1. How does USGS define streamflow? amount of water flowing in a river.
2. What is a stream? Although USGS usually uses the term "stream" when discussing flowing
water bodies

3. Why do rivers exist? Gravity

4. Where does water generally seek to flow? Downhill
5. What percentage of freshwater is found in rivers? .006%

Sublimation
1. What is sublimation? conversion between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter, with

no intermediate liquid stage

2. What is sublimation, in relation to the water cycle? describe the process of snow and ice
changing into water vapor in the air without first melting into water
3. When does sublimation occur? low relative humidity and dry winds
4. Where on Earth does sublimation happen a lot? Higher altitudes
5. What is a Chinook Wind and where do they occur? Chinook winds are westerlies from the
Pacific whose moisture gets wrung out as it passes over the Rocky Mountains.

Surface Runoff
1. What is surface runoff? rain hits saturated or impervious ground it begins to flow overland
downhill
2. When does runoff occur? Most likely when it rains

Place the letter from the diagram above in the space provided next to its associated term in
the lists below:
[ I] Condensation
[ K] Evapotranspiration
[ E] Groundwater discharge
[ D] Infiltration
[ C] Snowmelt runoff to streams
[ C] Streamflow
[ Q] Surface runoff
[ A] Water storage in ice and snow
[M] Desublimation [ R ] Plant uptake

[ H] Evaporation
[ P] Freshwater storage
[ F] Groundwater storage
[ B] Precipitation
[ O] Spring
[ L] Sublimation
[ J] Water storage in the atmosphere
[ G] Water storage in oceans