Which description best captures the Water Cycle?

Which description best captures the Water Cycle?

• A. The cycle of processes by which water circulates between oceans, atmosphere, and land, including precipitation, drainage, and return to the atmosphere by evaporation and transpiration
• B. The cycle of carbon in atmosphere
• C. The cycle of energy in weather systems
• D. The cycle of nutrients in soil

Answer: (A)

Water moves continually through oceans, atmosphere, and land, driven largely by energy from the sun. Water evaporates from bodies of water and surfaces and, along with water released by plants (transpiration), rises into the air as water vapor. This vapor condenses to form clouds, which then release water as precipitation back to the surface. On land, water drains into rivers and streams, runs off into the sea, or infiltrates the soil to become groundwater, feeding back into the cycle and eventually returning to the oceans to start again. The other options describe different cycles—carbon, energy, or nutrients—not the movement of water. That's why this description best captures the Water Cycle.

Water moves continually through oceans, atmosphere, and land, driven largely by energy from the sun. Water evaporates from bodies of water and surfaces and, along with water released by plants (transpiration), rises into the air as water vapor. This vapor condenses to form clouds, which then release water as precipitation back to the surface. On land, water drains into rivers and streams, runs off into the sea, or infiltrates the soil to become groundwater, feeding back into the cycle and eventually returning to the oceans to start again.

The other options describe different cycles—carbon, energy, or nutrients—not the movement of water. That's why this description best captures the Water Cycle.