Let’s go step by step to understand what’s happening in the water cycle shown.
We are looking at how water moves around Earth — from the sea, to the sky, to land, and back again. The arrows show the direction of movement, and each label tells us what process is happening.
Step 1: Start with the sun.
The sun heats up the sea → this causes
evaporation (water turns into vapor and goes up into the air). You can see two red arrows going up from the sea labeled “evaporation”.
Step 2: Water vapor rises.
As the warm vapor goes up, it cools down and forms clouds → this is called
condensation. There’s a cloud with an arrow pointing to it labeled “condensation”.
Step 3: Clouds move.
Wind carries the clouds over land → this is
transportation. An arrow points from the ocean area toward the land under the word “transportation”.
Step 4: Rain falls.
When clouds get heavy, they release water as rain or snow → this is
precipitation. Red arrows point down from clouds onto mountains and hills.
Step 5: Water flows on land.
Some rain runs off the surface into rivers and lakes → that’s
surface runoff. Some soaks into the ground → that’s
infiltration, which becomes
groundwater. Both lead to collection in lakes or rivers.
Step 6: Plants help too!
Trees and plants take up water from the soil and release it into the air through their leaves → this is
transpiration. A big red arrow goes up from the trees labeled “transpiration”.
Step 7: Everything collects.
Water ends up in lakes, rivers, or underground → this is
collection. Then eventually, it flows back to the sea… and the whole cycle starts again!
So, all these steps together make “The Water Cycle” — nature’s way of recycling water forever.
Final Answer:
The water cycle includes evaporation, condensation, transportation, precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, groundwater, transpiration, and collection — all working together to move water continuously around Earth.
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of label the water cycle worksheet.
