Gizmos Student Exploration: Water Cycle Answer Key

Gizmos Student Exploration: Water Cycle Answer Key Answers

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Name: Date:

Student Exploration: Water Cycle

Vocabulary: aquifer, condensation, evaporation, freezing, glacier, melting, phase change,

precipitation, reservoir, runoff, transpiration, water cycle

Prior Knowledge Question (Do this BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

The water that comes out of your faucet at home used to be in the ocean. How did water get

from the ocean to your water faucet? Water in the oceans evaporates by the sun, and then the

water condensed to form clouds. The clouds moved over land, where they rained. Some of

this rain fell into streams and rivers which led to a reservoir. The waterwas then pumped to

my house.

Gizmo Warm-up

Water on Earth is always in motion. These motions

form a repeating circuit called the water cycle. The

Water Cycle Gizmo allows you to explore the different

paths water takes as it moves from Earth’s surface tothe

atmosphere and back.

1. Click Oceans. What percentage of Earth’s water is

found in the oceans? The water found is

97.25%

2. Click Atmosphere. How does the Sun cause water to move from the oceans to the

atmosphere? Ocean water is heated by the sun, causing it to evaporate into the

atmosphere.

3. Click Clouds. How do clouds form? Clouds form by water evaporating in the

atmosphere cools and condenses.

4. Click Precip (rain). (“Pre p” is short for precipitation, or water falling to Earth’s surface.)

What causes it to rain? _ If the water droplets in clouds grow heavy enough, they fall as

rain.

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