Water Cycle — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. What happens to water when the sun heats it?
A) It freezes
B) It evaporates
C) It turns red
D) It disappears
Sunlight gives puddle water enough energy to change from a liquid into a gas we call water vapor.
2. What is it called when vapor turns back into tiny drops?
A) Evaporation
B) Collection
C) Condensation
D) Melting
Condensation means cooling vapor turns into liquid drops, like when water beads form on a cold glass.
3. Where does most of Earth water collect?
A) In clouds
B) In the ocean
C) On mountaintops
D) In the desert
Rain flows downhill along the land until it gathers in moving rivers and still lakes.
4. Which step of the water cycle makes rain or snow?
A) Evaporation
B) Collection
C) Condensation
D) Precipitation
The cycle begins when the sun warms water so it can rise as vapor — all other steps follow this one.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Evaporation happens when the sun heats water.
Evaporation is the first step of the water cycle — water heats up, becomes vapor, and floats upward.
2. Tiny water drops in the sky group together to form clouds.
As vapor rises, it meets cold air and condensation turns it back into the drops that build clouds.
3. When clouds cannot hold more water, rain falls.
Precipitation is the word for any water falling from clouds, no matter if it is liquid rain or frozen snow.
4. After rain, water flows into rivers during collection.
The sun keeps warming up water on Earth, which makes evaporation happen again and restarts the cycle.
5. The water cycle is powered by energy from the sun.
Water goes up as vapor and then comes back down as rain, so it travels up and back in a loop.