Question

How do the states of matter relate to the water cycle?

Answer 1

In water cycle different processes are observed like evaporation, sublimation, condensation, precipitation and in each process the water changes its state from one to another.

Complete step by step answer:
Water cycle is defined as a hydrological cycle which explains the continuous flow of water in the earth atmosphere.
The different stages of the water cycle is shown below.
(1) Evaporation: Evaporation is the process where the water in the liquid states changes into a gaseous state. Evaporation takes place when the water molecules present on the surface of the water bodies become excited and come in contact with the air.
(2) Sublimation: Sublimation is defined as the process where the water in solid states changes into gaseous states without becoming a water. Sublimation takes place in the mountains where the air pressure is low. The lower air pressure helps to sublimate the snow present in mountains and changes to water vapour.
(3) Condensation: Condensation is defined as the process where the water in gaseous states changes to liquid. The water vapours present in the atmosphere cools down due to the low temperature. The vapours get converted into tiny droplets or ice.
(4) Precipitation: The water vapours condense to form water droplets above 0 degree centigrade. The water vapours attach themselves to the particle’s surface. When enough droplets merge, it falls out of the clouds and on to the ground in the form of rainfall. This process is called precipitation.
(5) Infiltration: The rain water gets absorbed by the ground by the process of infiltration.
(6) Run-off: The rain water gets collected in the lakes, rivers and water streams and due to gravity starts flowing from the mountains. This is known as run-off.
In the whole process of water cycle, all the three states of matter: Solid, liquid and gases are observed in different steps.

Note: During this process, water changes its state from one state to another, but the total number of water particles remains the same throughout the process. Example: 100 gm of water boils to give 100 gm of steam which is collected and condensed to give still 100 gm of water.