Modeling the Water Cycle
#Lab 5 – Demonstration 1: Modeling the Water Cycle
In this experiment you will observe how entrapped water moves from land to the atmosphere and determine how weather conditions affect this movement.
POST-LAB QUESTIONS
- Which water cycle processes are represented in this model, and what component of the model represents that process?
Answer = The cycle processes represented in the model are condensation and evaporation. With the warm water evaporating water vapor, it produced condensation under the lid of the canning jar.
- Which processes are not represented? Propose a change to the model in which two of these processes would be included.
Answer = The processes I see not represented in the model are; sublimation, precipitation, transpiration, infiltration, surface runoff, and percolation. The way to improve or include the processes would be to add sand and soil to the experiment.
- How would the processes in question 1 be altered by an increase or decrease in temperature?
Answer =
Experiment 1: Assessing Infiltration
In this experiment, you will observe how entrapped water moves from land to the atmosphere and determine how weather conditions affect this movement.
POST-LAB QUESTIONS
- Develop a hypothesis predicting the effect of sunlight on evaporation.
Hypothesis =
| Table 1: Infiltration Observations | ||
| Sample | Observations at 1 Hour | Observations at 12 Hours |
| Sunny Location | ||
| Shady Location |
- Would you reject or accept your hypothesis? Why?
Accept/reject =
- What parts of the water cycle are represented in this experiment?
Answer =
- How would adding more sand to the bag affect the amount of water vapor released?
Answer =
- As a period of drought begins, how would infiltration and condensation change initially? What would happen to these two processes as the drought continues over time?