Learn about the water cycle with an easy and fun explanation perfect for 10-year-old students in Ireland. Discover how water moves through nature step by step.
The water cycle is the way water moves around our planet. It is super important because it helps plants grow, fills rivers and lakes, and makes sure animals and people have water to drink.
When the sun shines on water in oceans, lakes, and rivers, it warms the water and turns some of it into steam or vapor. This is called evaporation. You can think of it like when you boil water and see steam rising.
The water vapor rises up into the sky. When it gets higher and cooler, the vapor turns back into tiny water droplets. These droplets come together and form clouds. This change from vapor back to liquid is called condensation.
When the clouds get heavy with water droplets, the water falls back to the ground as rain, snow, or hail. This is called precipitation. In Ireland, you often see rain because of the cool and wet weather.
The water collects in rivers, lakes, oceans, or soaks into the ground. Then, the cycle starts all over again!
Because Ireland has lots of rain, the water cycle helps keep our rivers and green fields full of water. It’s also why we have such pretty lakes and healthy farms.
So, the water cycle is like nature's way of recycling water. It keeps water moving and helps life on Earth survive.