The Water Cycle — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the correct answer for each question.
1. Why does it snow instead of rain in winter?
A) The clouds are bigger in winter
B) The air is cold enough to freeze the water drops
C) Snow comes from a different kind of cloud
D) The wind is stronger in winter
The air is cold enough to freeze the water drops into ice crystals, which fall as snowflakes instead of rain.
2. Where does most of Earth's water collect?
A) In swimming pools
B) In the sky
C) In the oceans
D) Underground only
Most of Earth's water collects in the oceans, which hold about 97 percent of all the water on the planet.
3. What is runoff?
A) Water that stays in clouds
B) Water that flows over the ground into streams and rivers
C) Water that evaporates quickly
D) Water that freezes on the ground
Runoff is water that flows over the ground into streams and rivers after precipitation, carrying it toward larger bodies of water.
4. Which of these is NOT a type of precipitation?
A) Sleet
B) Hail
C) Evaporation
D) Rain
Evaporation is not a type of precipitation. It is a separate stage of the water cycle where liquid water turns into vapor.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word on the line.
1. Small balls of ice that fall from clouds during storms are called hail.
Hail is small balls of ice that form inside storm clouds and fall to the ground as a type of precipitation.
2. A mix of rain and snow that falls in cold weather is called sleet.
Sleet is a mix of rain and snow that forms when rain freezes as it falls through cold air near the ground.
3. Some rainwater soaks into the ground and is stored in ground water.
Some rainwater soaks into the soil and is stored as ground water, which can feed wells and springs.
4. Rivers carry water downhill and empty into the ocean.
Rivers carry water downhill and empty into the ocean, returning water to the largest collection point in the water cycle.
5. The water on Earth today is the same water that has been cycling for millions of years.
The water on Earth today is the same water that has been cycling for millions of years because the water cycle continuously recycles it.