Water Cycle Explorer
See how the Sun’s heat drives evaporation, how cooling air makes water vapour condense into clouds, and how rain returns water to rivers and seas.
Before you try
What if the Sun turned off for a week? Would it still rain?
Try it out
Interactive activity
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What happened?
Move a control to see what changes and why.
The cycle is sped up and reduced to one patch of sea, air and land. Real weather carries water across whole continents over days.
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Try these ideas
- Set heat to maximum and watch how quickly the cloud fills.
- Make the air very cold. Does it rain or snow?
- Turn the wind off. Where does the rain fall?
Why it works
Water on Earth is recycled endlessly. Sunshine warms lakes and seas so water evaporates into invisible vapour. As the vapour rises and cools it condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds. When droplets grow heavy enough they fall as rain or snow, and the water collects in rivers and seas to start again.
Turn up the Sun’s heat to speed up evaporation, raise the wind to carry clouds over the hills, and lower the air temperature to make condensation and rain happen sooner.
Check your understanding
Question 1 of 3
What gives the energy that makes water evaporate from the sea?
Clouds form when water vapour…
Which order is correct?
Explain it in your own words
What changed? Why did it happen? Where might you notice this in everyday life?
For parents & teachers
- Breathe on a cold window. What forms, and which step of the cycle is that?
- Ask: where did the water in your glass come from, and where will it go?
- Leave a saucer of water in the sun and one in shade. Which empties first?