The Water Cycle

The water grows warmer under the hot summer sun. As the sun pours its energy into the ocean surface, the water molecules begin to move faster and faster. Bouncing endlessly with its neighbors, one molecule receives a final boost of energy and breaks free from the crest of an ocean wave. It begins to float upwards. Joined by billions of other water molecules, the vapor rises high into the sky. As it climbs, the air becomes cool, and the molecules of water move more slowly until they again begin...