From sea to cloud to rain
Heat from the Sun starts the journey of water.
Wet clothes
Wet clothes dry faster on a sunny day. The heat of the Sun makes water evaporate.
Where does the Sun's heat make water evaporate from?
What this lesson covers
The idea
The Sun's heat evaporates water from water bodies, and plants release water vapour by transpiration; rising vapour cools and condenses into clouds, which bring rain, snow and hail, a process called precipitation.
Wet clothes
Wet clothes dry faster on a sunny day. The heat of the Sun makes water evaporate.
Where does the Sun's heat make water evaporate from?
- Oceans, lakes and rivers
- Only clothes
- Only the rain
Follow the water
Press the button for each stage.
Up, cool, cloud, down
Water changes to vapour, vapour rises, cools and turns into tiny drops that make clouds, and the clouds drop their water.
The Sun's heat evaporates water from water bodies, and plants release water vapour by transpiration; rising vapour cools and condenses into clouds, which bring rain, snow and hail, a process called precipitation.
- Process | What happens
- Evaporation | Water changes to water vapour
- Transpiration | Plants release water vapour
- Condensation | Cooled water vapour changes into drops that form clouds
- Precipitation | Clouds bring rain, snow and hail
Notes
The Sun's heat evaporates water from water bodies, and plants release water vapour by transpiration; rising vapour cools and condenses into clouds, which bring rain, snow and hail, a process called precipitation.
Check yourself
What starts the evaporation of water from oceans and lakes?
Plants release water vapour by …
When water vapour rises up and cools down, it …
The falling of rain, snow and hail from clouds is called …
- The heat of the Sun — correct. Yes!
- The wind from the Moon. The Sun's heat makes water evaporate.
- The cold of the clouds. Cold does not make water evaporate. Heat does.
- precipitation. Precipitation is rain, snow or hail falling.
- transpiration — correct. Yes!
- condensation. Condensation is vapour cooling into drops.
- turns into a rock. Water vapour does not turn into rock. It condenses into clouds.
- disappears for ever. The water does not vanish. It forms clouds.
- condenses to form clouds — correct. Yes!
- precipitation — correct. Yes!
- evaporation. Evaporation is liquid water changing into vapour.
- transpiration. Transpiration is how plants release water vapour.