How People Use Water

Families use water at home. Here are some ways to use water at home: drink water, wash your hands, flush toilets, and wash and rinse dishes.

Can you think of other ways families use water at home? 

Families also use water for fun at home and outside of the home.

Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper. Put the headings Water at Home/Water for Fun at the top. Make a list of all the ways families use water at home and for fun. 

Where is the Water?

Water is all around us. Lakes, rivers, and streams are full of water. High in the sky, clouds contain tiny water drops. There is water under the ground, too. If you dig in a garden, you may find the soil is damp. There is water in the soil.

Where do people get water? Some people get water from a well. People who live in towns and cities hold water in reservoirs. A reservoir looks like a lake. Some reservoirs are created by people. A water tower is like a reservoir. Water leaves the reservoir through large pipes. It travels through many pipes before it gets to your home. Did you know that water is treated? This makes water safe to use. You can help keep water clean. Here is one way: clean up after your pet. Pet waste can get into the water through soil. This can make water unsafe.

Can you think of other ways to help keep water clean?
List all the places that water can be found.

Experiment #2: Water Cycle in a Bag

Here is an easy science experiment that gives you the water cycle in a bag! Remember, the water on Earth keeps recycling. We call this the water cycle. The water cycle makes sure that we always have water.

Watch the video link below to see the few easy steps to create a water cycle in a bag. You will need a marker to draw the water cycle diagram on the bag. Use the labels: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

Water Cycle in a Bag Experiment Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZnwobFKqLI

Experiment #1: The Water Cycle in Your Kitchen

Do you know why the mirror in the bathroom fogs up after a shower? The vapour from the hot shower rises from the shower and covers the mirror. Since the mirror is colder, the vapour changes back to water. What is this part of the water cycle called? Is it evaporation, precipitation, or condensation?

Ask a parent to help you create a water cycle in your kitchen.

What you need:
- a pot
- water
- a mirror
- a cup
- an oven mitt

What to Do:

1. Ask an adult to help you boil water in a pot. When the water is hot, you will see steam. Steam is water vapour. This is evaporation. ****Stem is hot. Wear the oven mitt to protect your hand****

2. Ask the adult to hold the shiny side of a mirror over the pot. You will see tiny drop of water form on the mirror. This is condensation.

3. Put a cup under the mirror. Collect the water drops as they fall from the mirror. This is precipitation.

You have just created the water cycle in your kitchen!

The Water Cycle

The water on Earth keeps recycling. We call this the water cycle. The water cycle makes sure that we always have water.

Here is a diagram of the water cycle:

Evaporation: The sun heats the water in lakes, streams, oceans, and puddles. Some of the heated water turns into vapour. The vapour rises into the air. This is called evaporation.

Condensation: The air is cool high in the sky. The cool air makes the vapour change back to tiny drops of water. This is called condensation. 

Precipitation: The water drops group together. They form a cloud. The water drops become larger as more water condenses. These water drops fall from the clouds as snow, rain, hail, and sleet.

Collection: Water collects in lakes, streams, oceans, and puddles. The cycle begins again.

Use these words to fill in the blanks:
cloud            cool            heat

1. The ___________ from the sun changes water into vapour.

2. The ____________ air changes vapour to tiny drops of water.

3. Water drops group together to make a _________________.

Try making your own diagram of the water cycle using the example above. Use these labels: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection.

More About Water

Think back to our Liquids and Solids Science unit. We learned that water comes in three forms, or states of matter. What are these 3 states of matter?

Did you remember that the 3 states of matter are liquid, solid, and gas? Most of the water we use is liquid. A liquid can be poured. A liquid changes shape when it is poured into a container. 

Sometimes we use water as a solid. Water becomes solid when it freezes. It is called ice. Ice is hard. It cannot be poured. You can pick it up and move a solid.

Water can be a gas. Water evaporates and changes into vapour when it is heated. Vapour is a gas. You cannot always see the gas in the air. For example, water turns to a gas as it evaporates from clothes drying on a clothesline. 

Print the numbers 1-8 on a piece of paper. Write the state of water for each example.

1. hail

2. fog

3. clothes drying

4. rain

5. ice

6. frost

7. snow

8. dew

We Need Water!

All living things need water to live. People need to drink water every day to keep healthy. Water helps your body digest food. It keeps your body temperature steady. Water carries waste from your body. Most animals use water the same way we do.

Plants need water too. Plants suck up water through their roots. They also take water in through their leaves, stems, branches, and trunks. Plants use the nutrients in water to make their own food.

Is the following statement true or false?

1. Living things need water to live.
2. Animals do not need water.
3. Plants get water only through their roots.

List three ways that water helps your body. Remember to drink lots of water each day!