We will be having a mini unit this week on the Water Cycle. Period 4 from Team 3 will be working on the packet next week while I am at Outdoor School with Team 2:

 There is a limited amount of water on the Earth. The same amount of water here today is basically the same amount of water that was here a million years ago and will be the same amount that will be here many years for now. The Water Cycle is the continuous process by which water moves through the living and nonliving parts of the environment. The Water Cycle is sometimes called the Hydrological Cycle. They hydrosphere is the total of all the water on the Earth and its atmosphere. Reservoirs, like oceans, groundwater, ponds, and streams, are places that store water. Water is constantly cycling through the Water Cycle powered by the heat of the sun. Water in the reservoirs are heated by the sun causing evaporation, once water vapor rises into the atmosphere it will cool down and condense together through the process of condensation. When the water droplets become heavy enough they fall back to Earth in the form of Precipitation. Forms of precipitation include, hail, rain, snow and sleet. When rainwater contributes to the flow of rivers we call it runoff. Water molecules may sit on the Earth for one day or for thousands of years depending upon where it travels through the process. The majority of the water is stored in our oceans; it is therefore the place where the greatest amount of evaporation and precipitation occurs. There is a process call transpiration whereby plants release water vapor through their leaves into the atmosphere.

1. The sum total of all the water on Earth and its atmosphere is called the:

• Biosphere
• Terrasphere
• Hydrosphere
• Liquisphere

2. Oceans, the atmosphere, and groundwater are all_____ in the water cycle.

• Nodes
• Skins
• Reservoirs
• Stations

3. Water perpetually cycles from the Earth to the atmosphere and back. What does “perpetually” mean in that sentence?

• Constantly
• Frequently
• Occasionally
• Rarely

4. What effect does the sun have on surface water?

• It causes it to boil
• It causes it to rain
• It causes it to sink
• It causes it to evaporate

5. What is it called when rainwater contributes to the flow of rivers and streams?

• Transpiration
• Runoff
• Irrigation
• Desertification

6. Which of the following options depicts precipitation?

• Rain, sleet, hail, snow
• Water rising from surface of lake
• Rivers flowing
• A close up of water molecules

7. What must happen before water vapor falls from clouds in the form of rain?

• It must break apart
• It must evaporate
• It must freeze
• It must condense

8. What can you infer from the fact that there is the same amount of water on the planet now as there was one billion years ago?

• The total amount of water on earth changes gradually
• There will probably be the same amount of water on the earth billions of years from now
• There have been many fluctuations in the water cycle over the last billion of years
• There will be much more water on the earth one billion of years from now.

9. Which reservoir in the water cycle contains the most water?

• The icecaps
• The oceans
• Groundwater
• Surface water

10. How long do molecules of water stay in the ground?

• Days
• Weeks
• Months
• Anywhere from days to thousands of years

I am working on finalizing grades for First Marking Period so keep track online for any significant discrepancies. Have a wonderful week remember we have an early dismissal on Thursday and next week Team 2 is at Outdoor School.

Mr. Lowe

6th Grade Science

Team 2

jdlowe@carrollk12.org