Hydrosphere
The hydrosphere is water in all its forms: rain, ice, sleet, vapour, etc, and many associated weather phenomena. It includes the water cycle and all of the processes involved in it.
Precipitation: when water droplets or ice crystals become too heavy to be suspended in the air they fall to earth as rain, snow, sleet or hail. Infiltration: water that reaches the earth’s surface and is able to be absorbed into the ground, flows downward and collects above an impermeable layer or rock. Runoff: water that reaches the earth’s surface and is unable to be absorbed into the ground, flows over its surface and collects in nearby waterways or reaches stormwater drains. Evaporation: when water contained in water bodies is heated by the Sun and the liquid changes into a gaseous state and rises into the atmosphere. Transpiration: when water contained in plants is heated and changes from a liquid into a gaseous state and rises into the atmosphere. Condensation: when water in the atmosphere cools and changes from a gaseous state into a liquid state. This occurs when the water vapour clusters around a solid particle (such as dust). |

11g_bi_-_5_hydrosphere_diagram_fill_in.docx |