The Adventures of
Wally the Water Molecule
By
Mr. Marella
Harry Hydrogen (H2) always knew that he would
make a good father someday. He just needed to
meet the right woman in order to make it happen.
+1
VOCAB:
Covalent bonds present
+1
One day Harry Hydrogen saw the most beautiful
atom just wandering through the atmosphere.
Her name was Olivia Oxygen. When he saw the
electrons in her outer energy level he knew that
she was the one for him.
Ooh La La!
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VOCAB:
• None
+
+
1
1
All it took was a little bump between them and
they both knew there was a very strong
attraction—they would be bonded for life. This
was how Wally the Water Molecule was born.
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+
1
1
+8
VOCAB:
• Covalent Bonds Formed
Wally was a gas. He lived his life freely—able to
move wherever the wind might blow. He bounced
around from here to there and had a great time
as he saw the world. But as he got older, Wally
began to feel lonely. His constant mood swings
prompted him to visit a psychiatrist who
diagnosed him with Polar Molecule Disorder.
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VOCAB: None
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One day Wally got caught up in a large wind gust
that carried him high into the atmosphere.
Suddenly he felt much colder and things changed
rapidly. Before he knew it, he became part of a
snowflake! Wally made many friends as a
snowflake and they always stuck together.
VOCAB:
• Molecules moved slower
• Deposition & Hydrogen bonds formed
• Air’s specific humidity equaled its capacity
But life as a snowflake did not last long. As Wally fell
through a patch of warmer air he changed into liquid
water and continued to fall. He was now part of a
raindrop. While falling Wally noticed that one of the
water molecules next to him (a girl named Wanda) was
very cute. He enjoyed being close to her.
VOCAB:
• Molecules moved faster
• Melting & Hydrogen bonds broke
As Wally entered another patch of cold air he
began to wonder about his fate. He had heard
about reckless teenage liquid water molecules
jumping from high altitudes (just for thrills) only to
end up being vaporized by falling into dry air. He
did not want that to happen to him.
VOCAB:
• Molecules moved faster
• Evaporation & Hydrogen bonds broke
• Air’s relative humidity was less than 100%
He also thought of other liquid water molecules
he knew who fell into cold air only to hit the
ground as liquid and freeze on contact. This
sounded like a chilly fate, which he also did not
desire.
VOCAB:
• Air molecules move slower
• Freezing & Hydrogen Bonds Form
• Freezing Rain
But Wally had no control of what was happening
to him. He was at the mercy of the atmosphere.
As it turned out, the patch of cold air he fell into
was large enough to cause Wally to re-freeze into
a pellet of ice before he hit the ground.
VOCAB:
• Air molecules move slower
• Freezing & Hydrogen Bonds Form
• Sleet
As Wally lay on the ground he was a bit sore from
the impact. The thought of being next to Wanda
made him feel warm inside—He figured that they
would spend the rest of their lives together as
liquid—perhaps they would find a nice little lake
where they could settle down…
VOCAB:
• Air molecules move faster
• Melting & Hydrogen Bonds Broke
But nature had a different plan. The sun shined
brightly on Wally so he became really hot and
dizzy. The next thing he knew he was floating
away as a water vapor molecule—and Wanda
was left behind in the ice pellet.
VOCAB:
• Molecules move faster
• Sublimation & Hydrogen Bonds Broke
• Air’s relative humidity was less than 100%
Things looked very bleak for Wally until one night the air
began to cool significantly. It became so cool that when
he bumped into the ground he ended up getting stuck to
another water molecule. And as it turned out, that water
molecule was Wanda!!! They were reunited once again
as liquid!
VOCAB:
• Molecules move slower
• Condensation & Hydrogen Bonds Form
• Air’s specific humidity equaled its capacity