Meet Hydro, a somewhat naive waterdrop who is looking for his wayward waterdrop cousin, Agua. Following Agua’s clues leads him on a tumbling journey through the water cycle. Then Raleigh Otter teaches us more about the water cycle with an interactive hunt through a watershed showing us how waterdrops like Hydro move through it.
After watching the video and finding all the 15 clues in the bottom screen test your new knowledge with our online quizzes.
Instructions: Move your mouse over the different areas of the picture to find information about how the animals, sun, glaciers and other parts of the picture play a part in the water cycle. Can you find all 15 clues? This webpage is best viewed at a minimum width of 1250 pixels.
Droplets in clouds keep moving closer together. When the droplets become too heavy, it rains. Another word for rain is precipitation. Rain, snow, fog, hail, sleet and drizzle are all different forms of precipitation.
Condensation
When water vapor reaches cool air, it condenses and turns into very small droplets, or ice crystals, that hang together in the form of clouds.
The Sun
When it’s energized, water takes on a different form of matter known as vapor. Energy causes water to evaporate and rise into the atmosphere. The sun provides the energy for the water cycle.
Condensation and Precipitation
Once water reaches the cloud, it can condense and fall to the ground, or into a lake, or river or ocean. Depending on location, temperature and air pressure, water may condense and snow onto a glacier. It may also remain a droplet and be stuck in a cloud for a long time.
Bear
As animals, we’re part of the water cycle. We carry water in our bodies and help it move from place to place.
Lake
Water in lakes will most likely evaporate into the atmosphere. However, it could soak into the ground as well and be used by plants, animals and humans.
Deer
Once water enters an animal’s body, it helps to keep the body healthy. Eventually, it may leave the body as either waste or perspiration.
Glacier
There are four paths that water can take from a glacier. It can melt and filter into the ground. It can evaporate and turn into a cloud. It can melt into a body of water, or it can remain frozen for a long time.
Groundwater
Most of the water used in Florida is groundwater. The Floridan aquifer is where lots of our groundwater comes from. An aquifer is an underground layer of sand, gravel or rock that holds water. In addition to the Floridan aquifer, there are other aquifers in Florida such as the surficial, intermediate and Biscayne.
Plants
In the same way humans sweat, plants transpire. Transpiration is the process by which plants give off vapor through their pores in their leaves. Plants take in water through their roots. This water travels up their trunks, through their branches and into their leaves. Some of the water that plants absorb from the soil will leave through transpiration, while some of it will remain in the plant.
River
River water usually flows toward the river’s mouth. Before it gets there, some of the water will evaporate and some of it will flow into lakes and streams. Some water may enter an animal’s body. Also, water may be pulled by gravity into the soil, where it may be absorbed by a plant or go into an aquifer.
Water that falls onto the ground may stay in the soil, be absorbed by a plant, flow over the ground into a river or lake, or evaporate into the atmosphere.
Oceans
Ninety-seven percent of the earth’s water is salty; it’s not easily used by humans. The remaining 3 percent is freshwater. Only 1 percent of the freshwater can be easily used. The other 2 percent is frozen in ice caps or deep underground.
Aquifer
Water underground, or groundwater, usually flows slowly through the ground, taking years to move a short distance. However, in some areas, groundwater moves through the ground rapidly. Underground water may eventually flow into a river or a lake, come out of a spring or be pumped and used.
Soil
Water that falls onto the ground may stay in the soil, be absorbed by a plant, flow over the ground into a river or a lake, or evaporate into the atmosphere.
Buoy
Heat energy from the sun causes water to evaporate and rise to form clouds, big, fluffy ones! But sometimes water remains in the ocean for a long time.
