How To Explain The Water Cycle To Children

What causes water to change from one state to another? We will try to answer this question in a fun and entertaining way to explain the water cycle to children.

Water is an essential element of the Earth. 75% of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, but only 3-5% of this amount is fresh water. Furthermore,  69% of this fresh water is in the form of ice. The remaining 31% is liquid in rivers and underground. You can also find water circulating in the atmosphere as gas. All this we will take a closer look at when we want to tell about how to explain the water cycle to children.

What is the water cycle?

Water is a molecule that consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It is tasteless, colorless and odorless. In addition, water can occur in three stages: liquid (the water we drink) solid (ice cubes that keep us cold in summer) or gas (water vapor that rises into the atmosphere).

Water moves through these three stages in what we call the water cycle. The engine responsible for this movement is the sun, which evaporates liquid water from gardens and lakes into the atmosphere. There, with the help of gravity, wind and temperature changes, the water will return to the Earth’s surface in the form of rain, snow or hail.

Humans and living beings also contribute to this cycle. We drink water and excrete it later.

How to explain the water cycle to children

The hydrosphere is the set of all water on Earth. In addition to the liquid water in lakes, seas and rivers, glaciers are also an important part. These are layers of ice floating in the oceans.

The liquid water in lakes and rivers  evaporates due to the heat that the sun produces. Next, the evaporated water particles rise into the air and condense into the atmosphere. The water vapor is cooled and condenses into small water droplets that form clouds.

Thanks to the wind  , the clouds move to colder areas where the water falls  in the form of rain, snow or hail. This is how the water returns to Earth. The water that has fallen on mountains will flow into rivers or become part of the groundwater.

Experiment to explain the water cycle to children

Materials

• Two bowls,  preferably glass. If not, you can use plastic bowls as long as they are transparent.
• Food color.
• A teaspoon of salt.
• Transparent plastic film.
• An Apple.

Process

• Heat the water a little in the container  and add dye and salt. That way, you will help the salt to dissolve in the water.
• Once the salt has dissolved  , pour the mixture into a larger, transparent bowl. In the middle, place another, smaller bowl.
• Cover it with plastic wrap and put an apple on top in the middle to keep the bowl down. Next, place both bowls in the window  where there is sun.
  

• After some time  you will see some water on the inside of the plastic film. It will be evaporated and condensed water.
• Press the center of the film  to collect the water droplets so that they fall into the smaller bowl.

Results of the water cycle experiment

When water is heated, it evaporates. When it reaches the plastic, it cannot reach higher, just as when it reaches the atmosphere. Next, it will cool and begin to take the form of water droplets, as can be seen on the plastic film. In nature, this is how clouds take shape. 

If you test the water left in the small bowl, you will see that  it is colorless and tasteless, just like rainwater.

We hope you enjoyed making this simple experiment  to explain the water cycle to children.