Describe the water cycle with the help of a neatly labelled diagram.
Water cycle: Water is an essential component for living beings. It is found in various forms on the Earth. It moves in a cyclic manner from the surface to the atmosphere and from the atmosphere back to the surface.
Evaporation takes place when the water in oceans or other water bodies gets heated up due to sunlight. The resultant water vapour rises in the atmosphere and starts cooling down again with a decrease in temperature in upper layers of air. This process is termed as condensation. Heavy droplets of water combine together to form clouds. These clouds further result into precipitation and bring back the water on the surface in the form of rain, hail or snow. Some of the water seeps down the layers of earth, some is absorbed by plants and the rest falls into the rivers, which again drain into the ocean. This continuous cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation of water is known as water cycle or hydrological cycle.
The following diagram gives the detail of the process.
Evaporation takes place when the water in oceans or other water bodies gets heated up due to sunlight. The resultant water vapour rises in the atmosphere and starts cooling down again with a decrease in temperature in upper layers of air. This process is termed as condensation. Heavy droplets of water combine together to form clouds. These clouds further result into precipitation and bring back the water on the surface in the form of rain, hail or snow. Some of the water seeps down the layers of earth, some is absorbed by plants and the rest falls into the rivers, which again drain into the ocean. This continuous cycle of evaporation, condensation and precipitation of water is known as water cycle or hydrological cycle.
The following diagram gives the detail of the process.