Water Cycle — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. What do we call water turning into vapor?
A) Condensation
B) Precipitation
C) Freezing
D) Evaporation
Evaporation is the name of the change from liquid water into the gas form of water, which is called vapor. The sun's heat is what causes it.
2. What are clouds made of?
A) Cotton
B) Tiny water drops
C) Smoke
D) Dust
Clouds might look like cotton or smoke, but they are really made of millions of tiny water drops floating in the sky together.
3. What do we call rain, snow, or hail falling from clouds?
A) Evaporation
B) Condensation
C) Precipitation
D) Collection
All water that falls from clouds — whether it is wet rain, fluffy snow, or hard hail — has the same science name: precipitation.
4. Why does the water cycle keep going?
A) The wind blows hard
B) The moon pulls water
C) The sun keeps heating water
D) Fish push water up
The sun provides a constant source of warmth, so water keeps evaporating all the time. That steady heat is what makes the cycle never stop.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. Water vapor goes up and forms clouds in the sky.
When vapor rises and cools down, it changes into tiny water drops. Many of those drops group together high up and form clouds.
2. When clouds hold too much water, it falls as rain.
Clouds can hold only so many water drops. Once they are too heavy to hold more, the drops slip out of the cloud and fall as rain.
3. The three main steps are evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
The cycle goes: water evaporates to vapor, vapor condenses into cloud drops, and then precipitation sends the water back down as rain or snow.
4. After rain falls, water flows into streams and rivers.
Rain that hits the ground runs downhill. It gathers into small streams first, and those streams join together to make bigger rivers.
5. The water cycle repeats over and over without stopping.
Water is the special thing that travels around and around between the ground and sky. That is why the repeating pattern is called the water cycle.