Water Cycle: Process, Stages and Diagram for Classes 3 to 5

Water Cycle: This article is designed for students in junior classes to know and understand the water cycle with the help of a neat and simple diagram. Here you will learn the stages or steps of the water cycle.

Hydrologic Cycle: The water cycle is a process that occurs around us without our notice. It involves changes in the state of the water. A water cycle describes how water on Earth remains here and does not go out of its boundaries. This cycle is also known as the hydrologic cycle. Understanding this cycle is not very difficult if you know about certain processes. When we talk about the water cycle, there are various stages through which water molecules move and come back to the place where they started. The major steps are only four: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and the collection of water. But writing them in your exam won’t be enough, as you are supposed to know all the water cycle information. Here we discuss the water cycle for kids and students in Classes 3 to 5. The stages and steps of the water cycle will be described properly with the help of a simple water cycle diagram

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What is a water cycle?

As we mentioned before, the water cycle is also known as the hydrological cycle. It is one of the natural processes that occur to maintain the essential resources of the Earth. The water cycle is a continuous process through which water circulates within the Earth’s ecosystem. It elaborates on how water moves between the surface and the atmosphere by changing its states.

Stages of the Water Cycle

There are many stages of the water cycle, which are also called steps of the water cycle. Let’s discuss them one by one.

Stage 1: Evaporation

Water at 100 degree celsius exists as a liquid as well as a vapour. Thus, when the top layer of water bodies like oceans, lakes, rivers, etc. reaches the threshold temperature, the water starts to change its state from liquid to gas (vapours). This process is called evaporation.

Stage 2: Condensation

As the water vapours move up towards the sky, the temperature decreases due to a decrease in pressure. Thus, the vapours in the cooler atmosphere convert back into tiny droplets of water. This forms the clouds.

Stage 3: Precipitation

With more and more droplets accumulating in the clouds, they become saturated and can no longer hold all the water droplets. This releases water in the form of precipitation. Precipitation can be in the form of snow, rain, sleet, or hail.

Stage 4: Runoff

Precipitation that falls on the ground follows two paths. Either it gets absorbed by the soil, which is called infiltration, or it flows over the surface as runoff.

Stage 5: Collection

The runoff causes the water to collect in streams, rivers, and eventually oceans.

Apart from these stages, additional stages of the water cycle are:

Stage 6: Transpiration

It is the process by which plants lose their water content in the atmosphere through the pores located in their leaves. The pores are called stomata, which regulate the water levels in plants.

Stage 7: Sublimation

In colder areas, when ice or snow directly converts into vapours without attaining the liquid state, this is called sublimation.

Stage 8: Melting

When ice and snow come into contact with warmer temperatures, they melt, turning back into liquid water.

Stage 9: Deposition

When water vapours directly convert into ice, this is called deposition. This can occur on surfaces like leaves or other objects when temperatures are low enough. 

Water Cycle Diagram

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