The Water Cycle
Summary
The water cycle, also called the hydrologic acid, is one of different types of cycles. What is the water cycle you might ask? The water cycle is the movement of water that is on, in, and above the Earths surface. The cycle never stops moving and has been working for billions of years.
The water cycle, also called the hydrologic acid, is one of different types of cycles. What is the water cycle you might ask? The water cycle is the movement of water that is on, in, and above the Earths surface. The cycle never stops moving and has been working for billions of years.
How it Works
Evaporation: Evaporation is the first step of the water cycle. During this process, the water on the surface turns into water vapor. The water absorbs heat energy, which comes from the sun, and that turns into vapor. The main sources for evaporation are the oceans, lakes, and rivers. When the water evaporates, the temperature in these bodies of water reduces.
Condensation: The second step of the water cycle is condensation. Condensation is the process where the water vapor rises into the atmosphere. All of the water particles come together and form clouds and fog.
Precipitation: Precipitation, the next step of the water cycle, is when the water falls from the clouds. This occurs when the water droplets in the clouds form into bigger water droplets. Precipitation also occurs when the air can not hold any more water.
Runoff: After precipitation, the water runs over the surface of the Earth. All the runoff is combined and forms rivers and streams that lead to large bodies of water, like the ocean.
Energy Flow
Energy flow is the flow of energy through a food chain. It is the transfer of physical energy from one body or place to the next.
10% Rule
The 10% rule is the amount of energy passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the next. When the energy goes into the next trophic level, only 10% of the energy is passed on. A good example is shown above. The first trophic level is phytoplankton and it provides the most energy, so phytoplanton has 100% of energy. Next, the clownfish provide the second most energy for the animals above the clownfish. This fish contains 10% of energy. The basking shark provides energy for the killer whale, which is above the shark. The shark provides 1% of energy. Lastly, the killer whale does not provide energy for any other animal, so the whale contains 0.1% of energy for animals.