Water Cycle Vocabulary

Temperature: The degree of hotness or coldness of an object Sentence: The temperature in California was really hot.

Cloud: Water vapor that cools high in the air which attaches to dust particles that form the clouds. Sentence: There are lots of clouds in the sky today.

Boiling point: The temperature point at which water boils (100 degrees C or 212 degrees F) Sentence: The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

Precipitation: Any type of water (hail, sleet, snow, rain) that falls from clouds to Earth’s surface. Sentence: We are expecting a large amount of precipitation today, so take your umbrella!

Evaporation: the process by which a liquid changes into a gas Evaporation: the process by which a liquid changes into a gas. Sentence: The sun causes evaporation from the ocean, lakes, rivers, puddles, etc.

Rain: water that is condensed from the water vapor in the atmosphere and falls to earth. Sentence: We received two inches of rain today!

Solid: having three dimensions (length, width, and height), as a geometrical body or figure Sentence: The solid ice cube in my drink melted to a liquid.

Water cycle: The constant movement of water from the surface of the Earth to the air and back again. Sentence: The water cycle is a process that recycles water.

Condensation: The process by which a gas changes into a liquid Condensation: The process by which a gas changes into a liquid. Sentence: The condensation from my glass left a puddle on the table.

Snow: a precipitation in the form of ice crystals formed directly from the freezing of the water vapor in the air. Sentence: Last winter we had almost 12 inches of snow.

Atmosphere: the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth; the air Sentence: The airplane flew high up in the atmosphere.

Hail: Precipitation in the form of pellets of ice and hard snow Hail: Precipitation in the form of pellets of ice and hard snow. These balls of ice form when the wind picks up the ice and returns it back up into the clouds to accumulate more ice to “grow” it. Sentence: The hail from the storm was the size of a golf ball.

Accumulation: growth by continuous addition (of any precipitation) Accumulation: growth by continuous addition (of any precipitation). Sentence: The accumulation of snow made it difficult to drive on the roads.

Freezing Point: The temperature at which water freezes (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius) Sentence: When the water in the ice trays reached the freezing point, it became ice cubes.

Sleet: precipitation in the form of ice pellets created by the freezing of rain as it falls Sentence: When it began to sleet, the roads became slippery.

Weather: The condition of the atmosphere at a certain place and time Weather: The condition of the atmosphere at a certain place and time. Sentence: The weather in Georgia can change daily.

Fog: a cloudlike mass or layer of small water droplets or ice crystals near the surface of the earth, reducing what you can see. Sentence: When I woke up there was so much fog, I could not see my mailbox.

Liquid: molecules that move freely among themselves but do not tend to separate like those of gases; neither a gas nor solid Sentence: The liquid water I drank was really cold.

Gas: a substance that moves and expands, not a solid or liquid Gas: a substance that moves and expands, not a solid or liquid. Sentence: When I boiled the water it became a gas.