The Water Cycle
Master The Water Cycle for GCSE Biology with this free worksheet and full mark scheme — Foundation and Higher exam-style questions with worked answers for AQA, Edexcel and OCR. The water cycle provides organisms with fresh water through evaporation, condensation and precipitation.
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These worksheets and mark schemes are original, written for Virtus Academy and checked against the current AQA, Edexcel and OCR specifications. Every worksheet comes with a full mark scheme.
Topic overview
The water cycle provides fresh water for plants and animals on land before draining into the seas, and the water is continuously recycled.
Energy from the Sun makes water evaporate from the land and sea, turning it into water vapour. Water also enters the air by transpiration from plants. The water vapour rises, cools and condenses to form clouds.
When the water droplets in clouds become large enough they fall as precipitation — rain, snow or hail. This provides fresh water for organisms on land. The water then drains through the ground and into rivers, returning to the sea, and the cycle repeats.
Revision notes
Evaporation and transpiration
Energy from the Sun causes water to evaporate from the land, from lakes and from the sea.
Water also enters the atmosphere as water vapour through transpiration from plant leaves. Both processes turn liquid water into water vapour.
Condensation and precipitation
The water vapour rises, cools and condenses to form clouds made of tiny water droplets.
When the droplets become large and heavy enough, they fall as precipitation — rain, snow or hail.
Returning to the sea
Precipitation provides fresh water for plants and animals on land.
The water then drains through the soil, into streams and rivers, and eventually back into the sea, where the cycle begins again.
Key points
- The Sun provides energy for evaporation.
- Transpiration from plants adds water vapour to the air.
- Water vapour rises, cools and condenses to form clouds.
- Precipitation includes rain, snow and hail.
- Precipitation provides fresh water for land organisms.
- Water drains into rivers and returns to the sea.
Worked examples
Example 1
Name the process by which water enters the atmosphere from plants. [1 mark]
Model answer
Transpiration (1 mark).
Example 2
Describe how clouds form in the water cycle. [3 marks]
Model answer
Energy from the Sun causes water to evaporate, forming water vapour (1 mark). The water vapour rises and cools (1 mark), and condenses into tiny water droplets which form clouds (1 mark).
Example 3
Explain why the water cycle is important for organisms living on land. [2 marks]
Model answer
Precipitation provides fresh water (1 mark), which land plants and animals need to survive and which would otherwise remain in the seas as salt water (1 mark).
Common mistakes
Forgetting transpiration.
Plants contribute a substantial amount of water vapour to the atmosphere.
Confusing evaporation with condensation.
Evaporation turns liquid to vapour; condensation turns vapour back to liquid.
Saying rain is the only form of precipitation.
Snow and hail are also precipitation.
Saying the Sun heats the clouds.
The Sun drives evaporation; clouds form when vapour cools.
Exam tips
- Learn the cycle as a sequence you can describe in order.
- Include transpiration as well as evaporation.
- Use the terms condensation and precipitation precisely.
- Explain the importance in terms of fresh water for land organisms.
Key terms
- Evaporation
- The change from liquid water to water vapour.
- Transpiration
- The loss of water vapour from plant leaves.
- Condensation
- The change from water vapour to liquid droplets.
- Precipitation
- Water falling as rain, snow or hail.
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Written and reviewed against the current AQA, Edexcel and OCR specifications. Spotted an error? Let us know.