What are the three major processes that make up the water cycle?
The three major processes of the water cycle are evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Water evaporates from Earth’s surface into water vapor, condenses into clouds as it cools, and then falls back to the surface as precipitation such as rain or snow.
What this question is asking
You are being asked to name the three main steps that move water through the water cycle and to connect each step to what happens to the water.
The three core water cycle processes
- Evaporation: Liquid water from oceans, lakes, rivers, and wet soil changes into water vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
- Condensation: Water vapor cools and changes back into tiny liquid droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds.
- Precipitation: Water falls from clouds back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
How they fit together as a cycle
Evaporation moves water up into the air, condensation gathers it into clouds, and precipitation returns it to the ground and oceans. After it returns, the same water can evaporate again, so the process repeats.
Related ideas you might also hear
Some lessons also mention collection (water gathering in rivers, lakes, and oceans) and transpiration (water vapor released from plants), but the “big three” processes are evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
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