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Year 6 Geography — The water cycle

Name the four stages of the water cycle, put them in order, and explain where rain comes from and why the earth never runs out of water.

Name: ________________________

  1. 1.Rain, snow and hail all fall from clouds to the ground. What is the one word that covers all three?

  2. 2.Match each stage of the water cycle to what happens in it.

    • Evaporation
    • Condensation
    • Precipitation
    • Collection
    • Vapour cools and turns back into tiny droplets
    • Water falls from a cloud as rain, snow or hail
    • Water gathers in seas and lakes, or soaks into the ground
    • Liquid water turns into vapour and rises

  3. 3.Tap the place in this picture where condensation is happening.

    Write the number of the part.

    123456

  4. 4.Does the earth's water get used up as the cycle turns?

    • a) No, because the sun adds fresh water to the sea each day
    • b) Yes, all of it is used up and new water is made in the clouds
    • c) Yes, a little is lost every time it rains
    • d) No — the same water goes round the cycle over and over

  5. 5.Sort each of these under the stage of the water cycle it belongs to.

    Groups: Evaporation · Condensation · Precipitation · Collection

    • Water gathers in lakes and runs down rivers to the sea
    • Tiny droplets gather until a cloud can be seen
    • The sun warms the sea, and water turns into vapour
    • Wet clothes on a line dry in the sun
    • Snow falls on a mountain top
    • Droplets join together, grow heavy and fall as rain
    • Rising vapour cools high up and turns back into tiny droplets
    • Water soaks down into the ground and stays there

  6. 6.High in the sky, water vapour cools and turns back into tiny droplets. What is that stage called?

  7. 7.Water in a lake is warmed by the sun, turns into vapour and rises into the air. What is that stage called?

  8. 8.Why do clouds form high in the sky rather than just above the ground?

    • a) The air is colder up there, so rising vapour cools and turns back into droplets
    • b) Water vapour is too heavy to stay near the ground
    • c) The sun burns away any cloud that forms lower down
    • d) Clouds are pushed up there by the wind after they have formed

Answer key — Year 6 Geography — The water cycle

  1. 1. precipitation
  2. 2. Evaporation → Liquid water turns into vapour and rises; Condensation → Vapour cools and turns back into tiny droplets; Precipitation → Water falls from a cloud as rain, snow or hail; Collection → Water gathers in seas and lakes, or soaks into the ground
  3. 3. 3 — The cloud
  4. 4. d) No — the same water goes round the cycle over and over
  5. 5. The sun warms the sea, and water turns into vapour → Evaporation; Rising vapour cools high up and turns back into tiny droplets → Condensation; Droplets join together, grow heavy and fall as rain → Precipitation; Water gathers in lakes and runs down rivers to the sea → Collection; Wet clothes on a line dry in the sun → Evaporation; Tiny droplets gather until a cloud can be seen → Condensation; Snow falls on a mountain top → Precipitation; Water soaks down into the ground and stays there → Collection
  6. 6. condensation
  7. 7. evaporation
  8. 8. a) The air is colder up there, so rising vapour cools and turns back into droplets