The Sun and the
Water Cycle
By: Laura Wolfe
and Amanda
Clark
GLCE
• Standard: E. ES. 07. 11 Demonstrate, using
a model or drawing, the relationship between
the warming by the sun of the Earth and the
water cycle as it applies to the atmosphere
(evaporation, water vapor, warm air rising,
cooling condensation, clouds).
Engage
• Read Water Cycle skit
– Review previous knowledge
– Have fun reading how water drops communicate
– Skit
Explore
• Experiment 1
– Cloud Formation
• Experiment 2
– Salty water and "sun“
• Watch video due
Work in groups after observing what happens during
experiments and fill out worksheets.
Explore cont.
• Review observations by students
– What parts of the water cycle observed?
– What caused the cloud to form?
– Why is the condensed water not salty?
– What role does the sun play?
Explain
• Power point presentation
• Be sure to bring the observations from the
explore into context with the explain
Evaporation
• Evaporation occurs as liquid
water turns into water vapor
• Sun’s energy heats up the liquid
water to change it to vapor
• Oceans, plants, glaciers, lakes
and land are places where
evaporation can take place
Condensation
• Condensation is when water vapor changes to a liquid form
• Wind blows water vapor to form clouds
• Small particles (like smoke, salt) combine with the water
vapor molecules to form clouds, called condensation
nuclei.
• Fog is also condensation,
at the surface instead of
in the sky
Precipitation
• Cloud water drops fall as
– Snow (solid)
– Rain (liquid)
– Hail (solid)
– Ice (solid)
Because the water drops become to heavy
Primary source of fresh water on Earth
Precipitation cont.
• The water drops either fall
– Into the ocean to start again
– Onto the land
• Runoff (back to Oceans, lakes and groundwater) and
Evaporation
– Lakes for Evaporation
– Groundwater
• Glaciers-Evaporate back into the atmosphere
Transpiration
• Plants is where transpiration occurs. It is how
plants return water back into atmosphere as
water vapor through the
plant’s stomata (openings on
the underside of the leaves
– The role of the sun to plants for photosynthesis (how
plants make food) is very important
Assignment
• Create a water cycle bottle and write a paper
explaining the balance and importance of each
part of the water cycle. Also in the paper will be
a “What if” question.
– Include in your paper
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sun’s energy
Transpiration
Evaporation
Condensation
Property of water in each stage
Clouds
Precipitation
Evaluate
• Participation in experiments, group work and
making a water bottle
• Water cycle bottle completion and accuracy
• Paper about water cycle bottle and “what if”
Resources
• http://sfr.psu.edu/youth/sftrc/lesson-plans/water/68/watercycle
• http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/education/threecol.aspx?id=1
430&linkidentifier=id&itemid=1430
• http://windows2universe.org/earth/Water/water_cycle.html
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rt/weather/watercycle.s
html
• http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/hydro.htm
• http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/followadrip.html
• http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Water/water_cycle.
html
Resources cont.
Book
Ahrens, C. Donald. Essentials of Meteorology. Belmont, CA:
Brooks/Cole, 2012.
Water Cycle Bottle Project
Water Wonders – University of Michigan Exhibit
Museum of Natural History Family Reading &
Science Workshops, workshop 1
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/exhibitmuseum