Water is a simple chemical compound. Each molecule of water contains two hydrogen atoms (H2 ) and one oxygen atom (O). Thats why the chemical formula for water is H2 O. If water is so simple, why is it special? Water is one of the few substances that exists on Earth in all three states of matter. Water occurs as a gas, a liquid and a solid. You drink liquid water and use it to shower. You breathe gaseous water vapor in the air. You may go ice skating on a pond covered with solid water ice in the winter. Earth is often called the water planet. Figure 13.1 shows why. If astronauts see Earth from space, this is how it looks. Notice how blue the planet appears. Thats because oceans cover much of Earths surface. Water is also found in the clouds that rise above the planet. Most of Earths water is salt water in the oceans. As Figure 13.2 shows, only 3 percent of Earths water is fresh. Freshwater is water that contains little or no dissolved salt. Most freshwater is frozen in ice caps and glaciers. Glaciers cover the peaks of some tall mountains. For example, the Cascades Mountains in North America and the Alps Mountains in Europe are capped with ice. Ice caps cover vast areas of Antarctica and Greenland. Chunks of ice frequently break off ice caps. They form icebergs that float in the oceans. Did you ever wonder where the water in your glass came from or where its been? The next time you take a drink of water, think about this. Each water molecule has probably been around for billions of years. Thats because Earths water is constantly recycled. Water is recycled through the water cycle. The water cycle is the movement of water through the oceans, atmo- sphere, land, and living things. The water cycle is powered by energy from the Sun. Figure 13.3 diagrams the water cycle. Water keeps changing state as it goes through the water cycle. This means that it can be a solid, liquid, or gas. How does water change state? How does it keep moving through the cycle? As Figure 13.3 shows, several processes are involved. Evaporation changes liquid water to water vapor. Energy from the Sun causes water to evaporate. Most evaporation is from the oceans because they cover so much area. The water vapor rises into the atmosphere. Transpiration is like evaporation because it changes liquid water to water vapor. In transpiration, plants release water vapor through their leaves. This water vapor rises into the atmosphere. Condensation changes water vapor to liquid water. As air rises higher into the atmosphere, it cools. Cool air can hold less water vapor than warm air. So some of the water vapor condenses into water droplets. Water droplets may form clouds. Precipitation is water that falls from clouds to Earths surface. Water droplets in clouds fall to Earth when they become too large to stay aloft. The water falls as rain if the air is warm. If the air is cold, the water may freeze and fall as snow, sleet, or hail. Most precipitation falls into the oceans. Some falls on land. Runoff is precipitation that flows over the surface of the land. This water may travel to a river, lake, or ocean. Runoff may pick up fertilizer and other pollutants and deliver them to the water body where it ends up. In this way, runoff may pollute bodies of water. Infiltration is the process by which water soaks into the ground. Some of the water may seep deep under- ground. Some may stay in the soil, where plants can absorb it with their roots. In all these ways, water keeps cycling. The water cycle repeats over and over again. Who knows? Maybe a water molecule that you drink today once quenched the thirst of a dinosaur.
Output: water that falls from clouds to Earths surface