Question

Draw a flowchart of the water cycle. (Don't copy from the book; create your own small drawing.) Follow a single water molecule from a cloud through some portion of the cycle, including a living organism, and back to a cloud.

Short answer

A simple flowchart representing the water cycle, including the involvement of a living organism, can be created following these key processes: Cloud → Precipitation → Collection in a body of water → Consumption by a living organism → Transpiration → Evaporation → Condensation → Back to Cloud. This flowchart illustrates the sequence of the water cycle, starting with a cloud and passing through stages such as precipitation, collection, consumption, transpiration, evaporation, and condensation.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the processes involved in the water cycle

The water cycle consists of several processes: 1. Evaporation: Water from oceans, lakes, and rivers turns into water vapor due to the Sun's heat. 2. Transpiration: Water released by plants as water vapor. 3. Condensation: Water vapor cools down and turns back into liquid droplets, forming clouds. 4. Precipitation: The clouds saturate, and water droplets combine and fall as rain, snow, or hail. 5. Infiltration: Water penetrates the ground and becomes groundwater or flows into lakes, rivers, and oceans. 6. Consumption: Living organisms, including animals and plants, consume water for various life processes. Step 2:

Represent the processes in a flowchart

Start with a cloud and follow the sequence of processes to create a simple flowchart representing the water cycle. You may make simple drawings to represent each process. 1. Cloud 2. Precipitation (rain) 3. Collection in a body of water (lake) 4. Consumption by a living organism (animal drinking water) 5. Transpiration (water vapor released from the animal's body) 6. Evaporation (water turning into water vapor from the lake) 7. Condensation (water vapor forms again into a cloud) Step 3:

Connect the processes in a flowchart

Link each step in the flowchart with arrows to show the path that a water molecule takes through the water cycle. Make sure to follow the sequence of processes as outlined in Step 2. Cloud → Precipitation → Collection in a body of water → Consumption by a living organism → Transpiration → Evaporation → Condensation → Back to Cloud After completing these steps, you will have a simple flowchart of the water cycle that represents its different processes, including the involvement of a living organism. Keep in mind that this is a simplified version, and the actual water cycle may involve more complex processes and interactions in nature.

Key concepts

Evaporation

Evaporation is a key process in the water cycle where water liquid turns into vapor by the sun's energy. It mainly occurs over large bodies of water like oceans, lakes, and rivers.
This transformation is an essential step because it removes water from the earth's surface and carries it into the atmosphere, making it available for later stages in the water cycle.

• **How it works:** Heat from the sun excites water molecules, making them move faster.
• **Result:** As the molecules gain energy, they escape into the air as vapor.
• **Importance:** It plays a crucial role in temperature regulation and weather patterns.

Think of evaporation as nature's way of recycling water into the air, feeding rain, and replenishing water sources all over the planet. Without it, clouds wouldn't form, and rain wouldn't fall.

Precipitation

Precipitation is the process where condensed water in the atmosphere falls back to the earth. This includes rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
After water vapor condenses into clouds, tiny droplets merge and grow heavier until gravity brings them down as precipitation.

• **Term Origins:** Derived from Latin, meaning "to fall".
• **Types:** Can vary from a light drizzle to a torrential downpour, and from individual snowflakes to intense hailstones.
• **Cycle Role:** Crucial in delivering water back to land and replenishing groundwater and surface water bodies.

Precipitation is vital for maintaining the freshwater supply on Earth. It supports ecosystems, agricultural activities, and daily human needs.

Transpiration

Transpiration is the release of water vapor from plants into the air. It's an important biological step in the water cycle where plants contribute to the movement of water.
This often occurs through plant leaves as part of photosynthesis and water regulation.

• **Plant Role:** As plants absorb water from the soil, excess moisture escapes as vapor through tiny openings called stomata.
• **Environmental Impact:** Transpiration accounts for a significant amount of the moisture in the air and helps in cooling the environment.
• **Collaboration:** It closely works with evaporation to return water vapor to the atmosphere.

Transpiration not only supports plant health but also helps in maintaining local and global climatic conditions by regulating humidity.

Condensation

Condensation is a process where water vapor turns back into liquid. In the atmosphere, this happens when the air cools, causing vapor to form tiny water droplets and creating clouds.

• **Process Detail:** When warm air rises and cools, the water vapor loses energy and drops as liquid.
• **Cloud Formation:** These droplets gather around microscopic particles in the air, like dust or pollen, to form clouds.
• **Cycle Connection:** Prepares the stage for precipitation, continuing the water cycle.

Condensation is crucial not only in forming clouds but also in regulating temperature. It's the reason behind dew on the grass in the morning and foggy air on a cold day.