Water Cycle Vocabulary Worksheet

Student Name: ______Date: ______

Teacher Name: LaTrecia Abero Score: ______

Define these terms:

Atmosphere The different layers of gases that extend from the surface of the Earth into space.

Boiling This is the change from a liquid to a gas.

Boiling Point This is a temperature where the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the atmospheric pressure.

Cloud The result of evaporation, this is a visible body of fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in Earth's atmosphere.

Condensation This is the process of matter changing from a gaseous state to a liquid state.

Dew This is when water vapor in the air condenses directly onto a surface, usually seen in the morning.

Earth The third planet from the sun.

Evaporation This is another term for vaporization, the part of the water cycle in which water changes from a liquid to a gas. Water moves from bodies of water on Earth to water vapor in the atmosphere.

Fog This is a low-lying cloud. This is a collection of liquid water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface.

Freezing This is the process of matter changing from the liquid to the solid state.

Groundwater This is water stored in the spaces between rocks inside Earth that is found within a few miles of the Earth's surface.

Hail This is pellets of frozen rain that fall in showers from cumulonimbus clouds. Heat The transfer of thermal energy between two bodies which are at different temperatures. The SI unit for this is the Joule. Generally considered the raising of temperature due to thermal energy.

Heat Energy This is the form of energy that is transferred because of a difference in temperature.

Ice This is the frozen form of water.

Liquid This is the phase of matter with no fixed shape but fixed volume.

Matter This is anything with mass that occupies space.

Melting This is the process of matter changing from solid to liquid state.

Melting Point This is the temperature at which a solid becomes liquid.

Ocean This is a large body of water covering most of the earth.

Phase Change This is what occurs when matter transitions between solid, liquid and gas.

Precipitation Water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, etc.

Runoff This is the water flow that occurs when soil is filled to capacity and excess water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, flows over the land.

Sleet This is a term that refers to two distinct forms of precipitation: Rain and snow mixed, snow that partially melts as it falls.

Snow This is precipitation in the form of flakes of crystalline water ice that falls from clouds.

Solar Energy This is the energy that comes to Earth from the Sun.

Solid This is the phase of matter with fixed shape and volume.

Steam This is the gas form of water.

Sun This is the star at the center of the solar system around which the Earth and other matter orbit.

Surface Water This is any water collecting on the ground or in a stream, river, lake, wetland, or ocean.

Temperature This is a measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance.

Thermometer Equipment used to measure the temperature of an object.

Transpiration This is the loss of water from the leaves of a plant.

Water This substance is the universal solvent, it helps to make life possible on Earth. Most of Earth is covered with the substance and your cells are made mostly of it as well. We need this substance to survive. Water Cycle This is the circulation of water between land, air and surface.

Water Vapor This is another name for water as a gas. It is water that has evaporated into the atmosphere.

Watershed This is the an area drained by a river, stream, or other water source.