Question 21 - Reading: Level E Practice Test for the TABE Test

The Water Cycle

Water is constantly moving on and around Earth. The path that water takes as it moves is called the water cycle. Water comes in different forms. It is a solid when frozen in glaciers or snow, liquid when it is in a river or lake, and a gas when it heats and begins to rise into the atmosphere. There are four main steps in the water cycle.

First, liquid water on the surface of the Earth is heated by the sun and some of it turns into gas. This is known as evaporation. This water gas, or water vapor, rises into the atmosphere. As it rises, it begins to cool. When it reaches higher levels in the atmosphere, the water vapor cools so much that it turns back into liquid water. This creates clouds in a process called condensation.

When enough water condenses in a cloud, it falls from the sky as rain or snow. This is also called precipitation. As the liquid water falls from the sky, it sinks into the Earth’s surface and collects in lakes and oceans. From there, the process begins again as water begins to evaporate from the Earth’s surface. This water cycle is continuous and is happening in different stages all around the world.