How To Explain The Water Cycle For 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 important element on earth: 75% of the land surface is covered by water, but only 3.5% is fresh water. 69% of this fresh water is ice. The remaining 31% is liquid and is underground. You can also find water in the atmosphere as gas.

How does the water cycle work?

Water is a molecule that consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. It has no taste, color or smell. Water can come in three forms: liquid (the water we drink), solid (ice cubes that keep us cold during the summer) or gas (water vapor that travels in the atmosphere).

The water moves through these three states in what we call the water cycle, or the hydrological cycle. The sun drives this constant change; it converts liquid water from seas and lakes into steam in the atmosphere. With the help of gravity, wind and temperature, the water returns to the earth’s surface in the form of rain, snow or hail.

Humans and animals also contribute to this cycle. You drink water and then the body gets rid of this later.

How to explain the water cycle to children

In addition to the liquid water found in seas, lakes and rivers, glaciers also play an important role. These are ice layers that float on lakes.

The liquid water in lakes, seas and rivers is converted to steam as the sun warms it. The steam condenses in the atmosphere. The water then cools down and becomes a cloud.

Thanks to the wind, the clouds move to colder areas where they fall in the form of rain, snow or hail. This is how the water returns to the earth. The water that falls over the mountains flows down to the rivers or becomes part of the groundwater.

Experiments to explain the water cycle for children

Material

• Two bowls, preferably glass. Otherwise, you can use plastic bowls as long as they are transparent.

• Dye for food.
• A teaspoon of salt.
• Transparent plastic foil.
• An Apple.

Process

• Heat the water slightly and then add dye and salt. You then help the salt to dissolve in the water.
• Once the salt has dissolved, pour the mixture into a clear bowl. In the middle, place another smaller bowl.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place an apple on top in the middle. Then place both bowls by the window and leave them in the sun.

• After a while you will see some water inside the plastic foil. It will have evaporated and condensed.
• Press in the middle of the plastic to collect the drops so that they fall into the smaller bowl.

The result of the experiment

The water is converted to steam when it is heated. When it reaches the plastic, it cannot go higher, as when it reaches the atmosphere. It will then begin to cool and form water droplets that you can see on the plastic wrap. In nature, clouds are formed in this way.

If you taste the water in the smaller bowl, you will see that it lacks color and taste, just like rainwater.

We hope you enjoy the experiment and that it explains the water cycle for your children.