🌱Water Is Everywhere
Water is found all around us — in seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, rain and even in the air as invisible vapour. Our bodies are mostly water too!
But here is the surprise: almost all of Earth's water is salty sea water that we cannot drink. Only a tiny part is fresh water we can use. That is why every drop is precious.
🤔 Vidi's Wonder Questions
If there is so much water, why save it?
Most of Earth's water is salty sea water we cannot drink. Only a small amount is clean, fresh water — so we must use it carefully and never waste it.
Is there water inside me?
Yes! More than half of your body is water. That is why you feel thirsty and must drink water every day to stay healthy.
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Water is found in seas, rivers, rain, air and our bodies.
- Most of Earth's water is salty and cannot be drunk.
- Only a little is fresh water — so we must not waste it.
🐝Evaporation
Evaporation is when the Sun's heat changes liquid water into an invisible gas called water vapour, which rises up into the air.
- ☀️ The Sun warms the water in seas, rivers and puddles.
- 💨 The water slowly turns into vapour and floats up.
- This is how a wet floor or wet clothes dry up.
🤔 Vidi's Wonder Questions
Why do clothes dry faster on a sunny, windy day?
More heat from the Sun and moving air both speed up evaporation. So wet clothes turn to vapour and dry much faster on a hot, breezy day.
Can we see water vapour?
No — water vapour is an invisible gas. We only see water again when the vapour cools high up and turns into tiny drops that form clouds.
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Evaporation: the Sun turns liquid water into water vapour.
- Water vapour is an invisible gas that rises into the air.
- Evaporation makes wet things dry.
☀️Condensation and Clouds
Condensation is the opposite of evaporation: when water vapour cools down, it turns back into tiny liquid drops.
- ☁️ High in the sky the air is cold, so vapour condenses into millions of tiny water drops — these make a cloud.
- 🥤 On a cold glass, vapour in the air condenses into drops on the outside.
🤔 Vidi's Wonder Questions
So a cloud is made of water?
Yes! A cloud is millions of tiny water drops (and sometimes ice crystals) floating together. When they join into bigger drops, it can rain.
Why does the cold glass get wet outside?
Warm air around the glass touches the cold surface and cools down. Its water vapour condenses into little drops on the glass — that is condensation!
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Condensation: cooling vapour turns back into water drops.
- Clouds are millions of tiny water drops in the sky.
- Drops on a cold glass are condensation.
💧Precipitation: Rain and Snow
Precipitation is when water falls from the clouds back to the ground.
- 🌧️ The tiny drops in a cloud join into bigger, heavier drops.
- When they are too heavy to float, they fall as rain.
- ❄️ In very cold places, the water freezes and falls as snow or hail.
🤔 Vidi's Wonder Questions
Why does it rain and not always snow?
If the air is warm, the water falls as liquid rain. Only when the air is very cold does the water freeze and fall as snow or hail.
What is hail?
Hail is small balls of ice that fall from storm clouds. The water drops freeze in the cold high air and drop down as hard, icy pellets.
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- Precipitation: water falls from clouds to the ground.
- Warm air → rain; very cold air → snow or hail.
- Drops fall when they become too heavy to float.
🍃The Never-Ending Cycle
The water cycle is the never-ending journey of water around our Earth. It has four steps that repeat again and again:
- ☀️ Evaporation — the Sun turns water into vapour.
- ☁️ Condensation — vapour cools into cloud drops.
- 🌧️ Precipitation — water falls as rain or snow.
- 🌊 Collection — water gathers in seas, rivers and the ground… and then it all begins again!
🤔 Vidi's Wonder Questions
Does the water cycle ever stop?
No — it never stops! Water keeps moving from the sea to the sky and back again, day and night, all year round. It is one of nature's greatest wonders.
Is the water we drink today old?
Very old! The same water has cycled around Earth for millions of years. The water in your glass may once have been a cloud, a river, or even rain a dinosaur drank!
🤖 Vidi's Key Points
- The water cycle: evaporation → condensation → precipitation → collection.
- Then it repeats, again and again, forever.
- The same water is used over and over around Earth.
🧪 Try it at Home!
Make your own mini water cycle in a jar and watch it rain! ⛅
🧺 You will need
- A clear glass jar or bowl
- A little warm water
- A plate or cling film to cover the top
- A few ice cubes
👣 Steps
- Pour some warm water into the jar (with a grown-up's help).
- Cover the top tightly with a plate or cling film.
- Put a few ice cubes on top of the cover.
- Wait and watch the inside of the jar for a few minutes.
- See tiny drops form on the cover and 'rain' back down!
🎯 Mission Test
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