We know that water is a renewable resource without which life on Earth would be impossible. But do you know that water has been recycled countless times to be where it is today? If not, you should check out some facts about the water cycle. The water cycle refers to the continuous movement of water within the earth’s atmosphere. Understanding this cycle helps you learn about the different forms of water (solid, liquid, and gas) and how each form plays a unique role in maintaining the earth’s atmosphere. To know more about water and the cycle it undergoes, read on. In this post, we share some interesting facts about the water cycle with activities that will help your child understand it easily.
Water Cycle For Kids
Do you want to teach the steps of the water cycle for kids? They are explained here in a simple way.
1. Evaporation
Evaporation occurs throughout the day, and it is something you would have witnessed. In this stage, water anywhere on the Earth’s surface, be it in oceans or rivers or even your swimming pool, “evaporates” or turns into vapor form. It naturally occurs faster when there is increased heat, direct sunlight, and lack of humidity. The water vapor formed is lighter than water in its liquid form and tends to rise upwards as the convectional air currents carry it upwards.
2. Condensation
It is another phenomenon you can observe around you. If you take a cold bottle of water or a soda can from the fridge and put it outside, you’ll notice water droplets forming on the outside of the can or bottle. It occurs as the water vapor around the cold container cools down into condensed water. On a larger scale, this happens to evaporated water once it reaches a high altitude and begins to clump together to form clouds. Condensation is also considered the reverse of evaporation.
3. Precipitation
It occurs when the evaporated water becomes dense and too heavy to stay in vapor form. It is most commonly ‘released’ from clouds as rainfall. Depending on geographic location, weather conditions, and time of year, this precipitation can also take the form of snow, hailstones, or even sleet. While a portion of this evaporates back into water vapor form (and thus back into clouds) before it reaches the Earth’s surface, the majority comes back down to Earth in one form or another, thus completing the cycle of water back into a liquid or semi-liquid form.
4. Collection
Any waterbody you see is the result of the collection of water. The collection is when the product of evaporated, condensed, and then precipitated water in the form of rain or snow comes back to the Earth and gets accumulated. A large portion of it will seep through the Earth’s surface and become part of the Earth’s groundwater, a crucial element to the water cycle as it is the source for many springs, wells, and rivers. The water that doesn’t go into the ground is called surface runoff water, and it typically goes into lakes, rivers, oceans, and streams, refilling those sources of water. These form a major water source for different purposes, such as agriculture, industrial uses, and other vital tasks. The water will follow the laws of gravity to find the lowest point possible, flowing back into the oceans via rivers.
Facts About The Water Cycle
Here are a few interesting facts about the water cycle that your children would like to know.
Water Cycle Activities For Kids
If you want to explain the water cycle to kids practically, help them perform these simple activities.
1. DIY Water Cycle
You can recreate the water cycle on a small scale with simple objects from your kitchen. You will need a bowl, a small glass, and some plastic wrap.
Start by filling half a bowl with water and place a glass in the middle of it.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and seal it tightly.
Show it to the children at this stage and then leave it in the sun for about an hour or two.
You will find that the water in the bowl has begun to evaporate. It is evident by the reduced level of water in the bowl.
You can then notice that the evaporated water has begun to condense, as you can see water droplets on the inside of the plastic wrap.
Finally, you can see that the condensed water has started to become liquid and flows into the glass, filling it to some extent.
To make the evaporated water flow into the glass more efficiently, you can leave a small pebble or coin right above the glass and stuck to the plastic wrap. It will make the condensed water slowly drip into the glass instead of falling back into the bowl. And there you go! You’ve just recreated the water cycle inside a bowl.
2. Filtering Through Evaporation
It is another simple experiment that shows how water is filtered when it evaporates. You will need a ziplock bag, a dropper, some water, and food color.
Use a dropper to pour a small amount of water into the bottom of the ziplock.
Add a few drops of food color before you seal it.
Use a marker to mark the level of water on the outside of the bag.
Now, hang the ziplock in the sunlight, and leave it for an hour or so.
Children can observe three things from it. Firstly, the water level at the bottom of the ziplock would reduce below the mark, indicating it’s evaporated.
Secondly, they will notice water droplets towards the top and middle of the ziplock bag showing where the evaporated water went and began to condense.
Thirdly, and perhaps interestingly, they will notice that the condensed water droplets are clear and transparent, unlike the colored water that evaporated from the bottom of the ziplock, indicating that it is naturally filtered to a certain degree during the evaporation process.
3. Simulating Rainfall
It is another easy activity that shows condensation turning into precipitation using a visual aid. For this, you will need water, a dropper, two glasses, food color, and shaving foam.
Fill one-third of the glass with water and a layer of shaving foam on the top. This foam represents your “cloud.”
Next, mix some food color and a bit of water in another glass. Using a dropper, add the colored water on top of the foam in the other glass.
Initially, the colored droplets will settle on the foam. Once you add enough, they start moving through the foam and sink into the water. Be careful to add these drops slowly; else, they’ll make a hole in the foam or “cloud” layer.
Once the colored water becomes too heavy for the foam to hold, it will start to sink into the water, simulating raindrops falling from clouds when they become too heavy to stay in vapor form.
