Water cycle

5. Water that falls from clouds (as rain, snow, sleet, or hail) when air droplets become too heavy and the air can no longer hold them
7. The process where surface water absorbs heat energy from the sun and turns into water vapor, moving into the atmosphere
8. The very tiny openings on plant leaves through which extra water is released into the air as water vapor during transpiration.
10. The layer of gases surrounding the Earth, where water vapor travels, collects, and forms clouds after evaporation and transpiration
11. The process where precipitation seeps deep into the soil instead of running off, increasing the water level in the water table.

1. The ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, where the water cycle circulates important minerals
2. The loss of water vapor from plants, mainly through tiny openings on their leaves called stomata
3. The process where ice directly converts into water vapor without turning into liquid water first (common in polar ice sheets and mountain caps)
4. The process at high altitudes where water vapor cools and changes into tiny water droplets or ice particles, forming clouds and fog.
6. The natural process driven in part by the water cycle that helps convert solid rocks into soil.
9. Water (and melted snow) that runs over the surface of the earth, displacing topsoil and flowing into streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans.