STANDARD IV: Students will understand that water cycles through and between reservoirs in the hydrosphere and affects the other spheres of the Earth system.

Objective 1: Explain the water cycle in terms of its reservoirs, the movement between reservoirs, and the energy to move water. Evaluate the importance of freshwater to the biosphere.

a. Identify the reservoirs of Earth’s water cycle (e.g., ocean, ice caps/glaciers, atmosphere, lakes,rivers, biosphere, groundwater) locally and globally, and graph or chart relative amounts inglobal reservoirs.

b. Illustrate the movement of water on Earth and describe how the processes that move water (e.g., evaporation of water, melting of ice/snow, ocean currents, movement of water vapor by wind) use energy from the sun.