Final Exam Study Guide Unit 1: The Water Cycle (Science)

7th Grade MA Semester 2

Evaporation

The process of a liquid changing into a gas due to an increase in temperature or pressure.

Condensation

The process by which a gas transforms into a liquid, typically due to a decrease in temperature or pressure.

Precipitation

Condensed water vapor that falls back to Earth; snow, rain, sleet, and hail.

Transpiration

Plants absorb water through their roots and then give off water vapor without first melting into water.

Sublimation

The process of snow and ice changing into water vapor without first melting into water.

Glaciers

A large mass of ice that moves slowly over land.

Water Vapor

Water in a gaseous state.

Reservoirs

The storage area for water, such as lakes, ponds, oceans, or underground aquifers.

Clouds

Collection of a lot of water molecules or ice and dust particals.

Surface Runoff

Precipitation that reaches Earth’s surface. Flows over land, and reaches lakes, rivers, and oceans.

Contrails

Form as, the combustion of the water vapor which condenses and freezes along airplane exhaust rout.

Cumulonimbus Clouds

This type of cloud produces thunderstorms.

“Alto” Clouds

These are the middle clouds.

“Cirro” Clouds

These are the high clouds.

Fog

These are low clouds.

Nimbostratus Clouds

These clouds have light to heavy rain.

Stratus Clouds

These clouds form in layers.

Cumulus Clouds

These clouds have fair weather.

What 2 things drive the movement of the water cycle?

The Sun and gravity.

What is the most plentiful gas in the atmosphere? What percentage of the air does it represent?

Nitrogen, 78%.

Clouds are classified by what 2 factors?

Form and altitude ( height, wispy, and shape)

At higher altitudes the temperature(—————)

Decreases because the air becomes thinner.

Approximately what % of the Earth’s freshwater is frozen in ice caps and glaciers?

68.7%

Explain the process of the water cycle and how it works. Use the following terms in your explanation: gravity, energy from the Sun, evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, surface runoff, groundwater, the ocean, and reservoirs.

Water moves through a cycle powered by energy from the Sun. The Sun heats water in the oceans, lakes, and reservoirs, causing it to evaporate into the air. Plants also release water into the air through transpiration. The water vapor rises, cools, and falls back to Earth as precipitation like rain or snow, Gravity pulls the water down hills and mountains as surface runoff, where it flows into rivers, lakes, or reservoirs, or it soaks into the ground to become groundwater. Eventually, the water returns to the ocean, and the cycle starts again.