Water Cycle — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. What must happen before clouds can form?
A) Water must freeze
B) Water must evaporate
C) It must be nighttime
D) Wind must stop
Clouds are made of water vapor that has risen into the sky, so water has to evaporate first before a cloud can appear.
2. Which word means water falling from clouds?
A) Condensation
B) Evaporation
C) Precipitation
D) Collection
Precipitation is the science name for any water falling out of clouds, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
3. What causes water to evaporate from a lake?
A) Cold air
B) Darkness
C) Heat from the sun
D) Fish swimming
The sun shines on lake water and warms it up until it has enough energy to turn into vapor and float upward.
4. Why does the water cycle never stop?
A) Someone refills clouds
B) The sun keeps heating water
C) Water only falls once
D) Clouds are permanent
Because the sun shines all the time somewhere on Earth, water keeps evaporating and the cycle never pauses.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Water vapor rises and condenses into tiny drops in clouds.
When vapor meets cold air up high, it condenses, meaning the gas joins back together into tiny liquid drops.
2. The four main steps are evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.
Collection is the last step where fallen water gathers in oceans, lakes, and rivers before the cycle repeats.
3. When you see your breath on a cold day, that is condensation.
Your warm breath has vapor that turns into tiny visible drops when it hits cold air — that is condensation.
4. A river is a large body of water where collected rain flows.
A river is a long flowing stream on land that carries collected rainwater from the hills all the way to the ocean.
5. Without the sun, the water cycle would stop.
The sun supplies the heat that powers the cycle, so without it, evaporation could not happen and everything would stop.