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Level: JHS, Basic 7  |  Subject: Integrated Science  |  Strand: Cycles  |  Sub-strand: Earth Science (The Water Cycle)

Curriculum reference: B7.2.1.1 Recognise the water cycle as a repeated pattern of change in nature.

1. What is the Water Cycle?

• The water cycle is the continuous movement of water between the Earth’s surface and the air. Water goes up as vapour, comes down as rain, and goes up again.
• We call it a cycle because the same pattern of change repeats again and again. It never stops, and the water is never lost.
• The Sun provides the heat energy that drives the whole cycle.

2. Stages of the Water Cycle

Stage	What happens	Example from home
Evaporation	The Sun heats water in seas, rivers, lakes and the soil, and it turns into water vapour (a gas) that rises	Wet clothes drying on the line
Transpiration	Plants give off water vapour through their leaves into the air	A cassava or mango tree in the sun
Condensation	The rising vapour cools in the sky and changes into tiny drops of water, forming clouds	Water drops on the outside of a cold bottle of water
Precipitation	The drops in the clouds join and grow heavy, then fall as rain (or hail)	Rain during the rainy season
Collection and runoff	Rain flows over the land into streams, rivers, lakes and the sea, or soaks into the ground (infiltration) and becomes underground water	Water filling the Volta River, boreholes and wells

3. Simple Order to Remember

Evaporation (and transpiration) → Condensation → Precipitation → Collection → back to Evaporation.

4. Importance of the Water Cycle

• It gives us fresh water for drinking, cooking and washing.
• Rain supplies water to farms, so we get food such as maize, cocoa and yam.
• It fills rivers and lakes (such as Lake Volta and the Densu River) which supply water for towns and electricity from dams.
• It keeps the temperature balanced and gives us weather and climate.
• It supports the life of plants, animals and fish.
• It cleans the water: when water evaporates, the dirt and salt are left behind, so rain is fresh.

5. Things that Disturb the Water Cycle

• Cutting down forests reduces transpiration and rain.
• Illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) pollutes rivers and destroys water sources.
• Pollution of water bodies with refuse and chemicals.
• Climate change causes floods in some years and drought in others.

What we can do: plant trees, keep rivers clean, protect water sources and save water.

Remember: The water cycle is a repeated pattern: evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. The Sun is the source of energy.

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