The water cycle

Label a picture showing where water is kept, how it changes and where it moves. Where water is: ocean, lake, river, groundwater, cloud. How it changes and moves: evaporation, condensation, rain, snow.

Put together, water's journey goes like this:

• Water from the oceans and the Earth's surface evaporates into the air as water vapour.
• The vapour condenses to form clouds.
• The water comes back down as rain, hail or snow.
• In the end it flows back to the oceans.

This circulation of water between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere is called the water cycle. The same water goes round and round.

Only a small part of the Earth's water is fit for plants, animals and people to use. Most of it is in the oceans and cannot be used directly. We need water for drinking and much more, and as the number of people grows, so does the need. In many parts of the world there is a shortage of water.

So it is very important to use water wisely, not waste it, and keep our water bodies free from pollution.