Rain: Where does it come from

Important points

1. Water is very important for the survival of life on the earth.

2. We get water from many sources like rivers, lakes, ponds, ground,
streams etc.,
3. Water is used in so many activities like drinking, washing clothes,
bathing, cooking, cultivation, in industries.
4. These water bodies are filled with water because of rains.
5. Rain is a common phenomenon and we get rains because of clouds.
6. All clouds do not cause rain.
7. Water exists in three forms namely ice in solid form, water in liquid form,
and water vapour in gas form.
8. The three forms of water are interchangeable
9. When ice is heated, it converts into water. On further heating, water
converts into water vapour.
10.When water vapour is cooled, it condenses to form water and on further
cooling, water converts into ice. So, we can change the form (state) of the
substance by changing the temperature.
11.The process of conversion of water to watervapour is evaporation.
12.Evaporation depends on four factors. Temperature, wind speed, surface
area and humidity.
13.If the temperature is high, water evaporates quickly. If the temperature is
low, water evaporates slowly.
14.Water evaporates on a windy day because the wind carries away the
water present in the water bodies.
15.If the surface area is more, the water evaporates quickly as more water is
exposed to the sunlight. If the surface area is less, the water evaporates
slowly.
16.The amount of water vapour present in the air is called humidity.
17.If humidity is high, evaporation occurs slowly. If humidity is low, water
evaporates quickly.
18.Evaporation is a slow and natural process.
19.Evaporation is a surface phenomenon, that is, the water present on the
surface of water bodies will evaporate first.
20.Evaporation always causes cooling effect.
21.The process of conversion of water vapour into water is called
condensation.
22.The process of conversion of water into ice is called freezing or
solidification.
23.Evaporation followed by condensation of water present in water bodies
like lakes, rivers, seas and oceans gives us rain.
24.Rainfall is measured by rain gauge instrument. It is measured in
centimetres or millimetres.
25. Rain water is the purest form of water but it is not suitable for drinking.
26.Our human body requires some minerals which we get through drinking
fresh water. These minerals are not present in the rain water so, we
should not drink it.
27.On a warm day, the sun heats up the water present in the water bodies
like river, seas , oceans etc.,. the water will convert into water vapour and
enters into the sky. This water vapour reaches the higher levels of the
atmosphere and get condensed because of cool air and appear as clouds.
28. Some amount of water absorbed by plants is released into air, as water
vapour through the process of transpiration.
29.Water vapour enters the air through the processes of evaporation and
transpiration
30.Clouds move from one place to another in the direction of winds.
31.Before it rains, the area gets cooled, clouds become dark grey or black in
colour, clouds come close to the surface of the earth.
32.In very cold condition, the water presents in the clouds turn into crystals
of ice and fall as snow. Sometimes, the big drops of water solidify into
ice and fall as pieces of ice known as hail stones.
33.A monsoon is a seasonal wind, found especially in Asia that reverses
direction between summer and winter and often brings heavy rains.
34.Our state will get rains from June to September because of south west
monsoon.
35.The circulation of water into water vapour by evaporation, water vapour
into clouds and clouds to rain by condensation is known as water cycle.
36.Deforestation ( large scale cutting down of trees ) and pollution are the
two main seasons for not getting timely rains.
37.Heavy rains may lead to floods whereas no rainfall for many years leads
to drought.
38.Floods cause extensive damage to crops, domestic animals, property and
human life.
39.During floods, the animals living in the water also get carried away with
the waters.
40.Floods cause soil erosion and they spread the diseases.
41.In drought conditions, it is difficult to get food and fodder.
42.Collecting and storing rain water for future use is called rain harvesting.
43.The amount of usable water on earth is limited so it needs to be used
carefully.
44.Every year on March, 22 water day is celebrated .