Water/Hydrologic cycle

Lesson Plan:

• Explain the water/hydrologic cycle and the steps within the cycle

• Watch youtube video further expressing the concept of the water/hydrologic cycle

• Do an activity that correlates with the water/hydrologic cycle but keeps students intrested

• Ask questions to get an understanding of where the students are within the topic

Explaining the water/hydrologic cycle and steps within the cycle:

• First off the water/hydrologic cycle consists of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation which are also known as the three major processes in the cycle. The 7 steps within the cycle are evaporation, condensation, precipitation, interception, infiltration, percolation, and transpiration. This cycle involves the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system.

Questions to ask to check understanding:

1. What are the 7 steps of the water cycle?

Answer: Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Interception, Infiltration, Percolation, and Transpiration.

2. Why is the ocean salty?

Answer: The rain physically erodes the rock and the acids chemically break down the rocks and carries salts and minerals along in a dissolved state as ions.

3. Water that soaks into the ground is called what in the water cycle?

Answer: Precipitation takes one of two paths once on the ground. It runs over the surface into rivers, lakes or the ocean, and becomes surface water, or it soaks into the earth and becomes groundwater.

4. How does global warming affect the hydrologic cycle?

Answer: Climate change is likely causing parts of the water cycle to speed up as warming global temperatures increase the rate of evaporation worldwide.

5. What is the most important thing in the water cycle?

Answer: The sun