Which step in the water cycle represents water changing from liquid to gas?
Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.
Which steps of the water cycle occur with the ocean?
Precipitation, evaporation, freezing and melting and condensation are all part of the hydrological cycle – a never-ending global process of water circulation from clouds to land, to the ocean, and back to the clouds.
What happens to water in the water cycle?
As it moves through this cycle, it changes forms. Water is the only substance that naturally exists in three states on Earth – solid, liquid, and gas. Over 96% of total global water is in the ocean, so let’s start there. Energy from the sun causes water on the surface to evaporate into water vapor – a gas.
Which is the first step in the water cycle?
The first water cycle step starts with the atmosphere pulling water out of the big bodies of water. During this process, surface water turns into water vapor. This is done by the transfer of heat energy. Water absorbs this heat energy and turns into its gaseous state.
How does the evaporation process work in the water cycle?
For the water cycle to work, water has to get from the Earth’s surface back up into the skies so it can rain back down and ruin your parade or water your crops or yard. It is the invisible process of evaporation that changes liquid and frozen water into water-vapor gas, which then floats up into the skies to become clouds.
Where does the water go when it returns to the ocean?
This invisible vapor rises into the atmosphere, where the air is colder, and condenses into clouds. Air currents move these clouds all around the earth. Water drops form in clouds, and the drops then return to the ocean or land as precipitation – let’s say this time, it’s snow.