No, precipitation is the one where... Oh, hey there.
Squeaks and I are trying to solve a problem.
Squeaks is having some trouble remembering the different parts of the Earth's water cycle.
Earth's water is constantly being recycled, coming down from clouds as raindrops and snowflakes, running across the ground in streams and filling up puddles, and going back into the sky and forming more raindrops.
Scientists give these steps names.
Evaporation. condensation, precipitation, and collection.
Water goes through these steps over and over again.
Oh, that's okay, Squeaks.
Those are some new words.
And they sound pretty similar to each other.
Squeaks says he keeps forgetting what happens in each step.
I'm trying to think of a way to help him remember.
Hey, I have it.
What about a play?
Sure, a play!
Plays are a fun way to tell stories, and we can write one telling a story about how water moves through Earth's water cycle.
Scientists often use models to explain things in the natural world that are hard to see or describe.
A play can definitely be a model.
And we can ask our friends if they want to help, too!
That's a great idea!
Squeaks wants to pretend to be water in the play and move through each step of the water cycle.
Let's ask our other friends to play the other roles of evaporation condensation, precipitation and collection.
Aw, thanks, Squeaks.
I would love to be the narrator for your play.
Let's get in touch with everyone to get this play underway.
And we'll see you at the performance.
Welcome, friends, to the story of water's amazing journey.
Let's follow water as it moves through the water cycle.
This adventure will take us hundreds of kilometers from sky to earth and back again.
Our story begins with the sun shining brightly on the ocean.
Water is resting on the surface of the ocean, enjoying the waves.
Hey, is it getting warm in here?
Or is it just me?
It's definitely getting warm.
Thanks to the sun's energy.
And when water gets warm enough, It's time for you, Water, to join me, Evaporation.
Come on, let's begin your journey.
Water begins to feel kind of funny.
When water evaporates, it changes form.
It changes from a liquid to a gas called water vapor, and it rises.
Water feels himself starting to float into the air.
When water vapor is high in the sky, my work is done.
See you next time, water.
Water is now high above the ground in Earth's atmosphere.
Temperatures up here are much cooler than the warm temperatures that caused water to turn into vapor and evaporate.
Oh, hey water, you're back.
Looks like you evaporated from the ocean.
Did it wave goodbye?
Get it, wave?
Like the ocean has waves?
Anyway, you're here now, all ready for me.
Condensation.
When water vapor gets cool, it condenses.
It turns from a gas back into a liquid.
During condensation, water vapor sticks together to form small drops.
Small drops combine to form bigger drops and so on.
We can see the condensed water vapor in the sky as clouds.
And clouds are the starting point for the next part of water's journey.
Water doesn't usually.
And there are lots of kinds of clouds.
Feathery cirrus clouds, fluffy cumulus clouds, and my personal favorite, clouds that form storms.
Cumulonimbus clouds.
Man, I could talk about clouds all day.
Psst, Sam.
Oh, sorry about that.
Stay cool until the next time I see you, water.
Or don't.
I mean, I guess since you have to be warm to evaporate?
Water doesn't usually stay in the clouds for very long before it moves into the next part of the water cycle.
That's right.
What once went up must now come down.
It's time for me, precipitation.
Precipitation forms when a water drop becomes too large to stay in a cloud.
Water starts to feel kind of heavy and falls from the cloud toward the Earth.
There are different kinds of precipitation, like rain, hail, and snow.
They're all made of water.
Which kind of precipitation forms depends on things like temperature and what kind of cloud the water is in.
Clearly, precipitation is a lot more exciting than evaporation.
That line wasn't in the script.
It's more interesting now.
Guys, guys, not right now.
Cool it.
Well, the show must go on.
Once precipitation lands on the Earth, it enters our final stage of the water cycle.
Collection, that's me.
You can use the term collection to describe all the different things that can happen once water falls and lands on Earth's surface.
You might land in a large lake or flowing river or freeze and become part of a glacier or polar ice cap.
You might land on dirt and sink into the ground Or water, suddenly feels like he's starting to slide downhill.
Oh, neat.
It looks like you're going to be part of some runoff.
Runoff forms when water runs down mountains and hills into streams and the streams run into rivers that eventually end up flowing into an ocean.
Come back again when you can stay longer.
Maybe you can help one of my plants grow next time.
Before he knows it, water is back where his journey began.
The ocean.
What adventures will this water have during its next trip through the water cycle?
That's a story for another day.
Maybe one that you will write.
Thanks for joining all of us on SciShow Kids.
If you want to have fun with me, Squeaks, and all our friends, you can subscribe to SciShow Kids.
And we'll see you next time here at the Fort.
