Question

Define water cycle.

Answer 1

Water cycle :

1. It is the state of change of water into liquid, vapors, and ice in the environment in a continuous manner on, above, and below the surface of the earth.
2. The heat from the sun heats the water present in the rivers and oceans which gets evaporated as vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
3. The vapors through air currents condensed in the form of clouds.
4. The air current moves these clouds due to which they condense and fall as precipitation in the form of snow and gets accumulated as ice caps and glaciers on the mountains, but most of the precipitation falls back into the rivers and oceans or onto the land over the ground as surface runoff.
5. However, not all runoff flows into rivers. Some water penetrates deep into the ground and is stored as groundwater while some of the surface runoff stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies.
6. Some groundwater moves on the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. However, the water re-enters the ocean, where the water cycle starts again.