Chapter 18, Problem 1CQ

Describe in general all the things that happen to the water that falls on the land.

To determine

The things happen when water falls on the surface of Earth.

Answer to Problem 1CQ

When it rains, the water falls on the surface of Earth. A part of water gets evaporated and contributes in the formation of clouds for further rainfall. However, another part of water gets accumulated into ponds and rive and some portion of water settled down in the form of groundwater.

Explanation of Solution

Water covers three-fourth portion of the surface of earth in the form of ocean, lakes, ponds and various other reservoirs. An extensive part of water gets evaporated when falls on the surface of earth. The evaporated portion of the water returns back to the atmosphere of Earth. The remaining portion of water which does not evaporated flows towards the downhill direction or gets soaked into the ground region of Earth.

There is a formation of thin sheets of water when it rains. These thin sheets of water move across the surface of Earth. These sheets form a running water body known as stream. The stream flows in the downhill direction and gets accumulated in the in a depression which can be a lake or a pond.

The part of water which soaked into the ground regions of earth moves down the surface of Earth and reaches the zone of saturation. In the saturation zone, the spaces between the soil particles and rocks are fully filled with water. This water is termed as “groundwater.”