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Year 7 Science — States of water and the water cycle

Tell the three states of water apart by how they behave, name the changes between them, and follow water round the water cycle.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The stages water passes through on its way from the ocean and back again.

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  1. 1. Evaporation
  2. 2. Condensation
  3. 3. Rain
  4. 4. The ocean

Water rises from the ocean as vapour, cools high up into cloud droplets, falls back as rain and flows to the ocean again. There is no first stage — water has been going round this loop far longer than anyone has been watching it.

  1. 1.The same amount of water is left in a narrow bottle cap and spread across a wide plate, side by side. Which evaporates faster, and why?

    • a) The plate, because water on a plate is warmer
    • b) They finish together, because the amount of water is the same
    • c) The plate, because more of its water is exposed to the air
    • d) The bottle cap, because its water is deeper

  2. 2.The water cycle turns round and round with no true beginning, so start it from evaporation and put the stages in order from there.

    • Flowing back to the ocean
    • Rain
    • Evaporation
    • Condensation

  3. 3.An ice cube left on a table turns into water. What is this change called?

    • a) Freezing
    • b) Evaporation
    • c) Melting
    • d) Condensation

  4. 4.How does the chapter say a cloud is formed?

    • a) Cold air sinks and squeezes water out of the ground
    • b) Water is lifted from the sea as whole drops by the wind
    • c) Rising air cools, and its water vapour turns into droplets around dust particles
    • d) Smoke from the ground gathers and turns white

  5. 5.A block of ice is heated, and the heating is kept up. Put the three states in the order the water passes through them.

    • Ice
    • Water
    • Water vapour

  6. 6.Dew forms on plants overnight, and drops gather under the lid of a boiling pan. What is the name of the change turning water vapour back into liquid?

  7. 7.Water is put into a freezer and turns into ice. What is this change called?

    • a) Freezing
    • b) Evaporation
    • c) Melting
    • d) Condensation

  8. 8.Cloud droplets are light enough to float. What has to happen before they fall as rain?

    • a) The droplets freeze solid and drop as ice
    • b) Many droplets join into drops heavy enough to fall
    • c) The wind pushes the droplets downwards
    • d) The cloud runs out of dust particles to sit on

Answer key — Year 7 Science — States of water and the water cycle

  1. 1. c) The plate, because more of its water is exposed to the air
  2. 2. 1. Evaporation 2. Condensation 3. Rain 4. Flowing back to the ocean
  3. 3. c) Melting
  4. 4. c) Rising air cools, and its water vapour turns into droplets around dust particles
  5. 5. 1. Ice 2. Water 3. Water vapour
  6. 6. condensation
  7. 7. a) Freezing
  8. 8. b) Many droplets join into drops heavy enough to fall