Water Cycle — Revision Notes

⚡ 30-Second Revision

Revision checked 17 October 2026.

Stores hold water; fluxes move it.
Evaporation is not boiling.
Infiltration is not automatically recharge.
Rivers can gain or lose groundwater.
Balance one boundary and one period.

2-Minute Revision

The cycle links atmosphere, surface, soil and subsurface through multiple pathways and residence times. Water can evaporate, be transpired, condense, precipitate, infiltrate or run off. Soil water may return to air before reaching groundwater. Human activities alter partitioning, storage and timing. A balance must include the relevant exchanges rather than force every residual into recharge.

5-Minute Revision

Original drill: Compare a permeable catchment before and after extensive paving. Identify likely changes in runoff timing and infiltration opportunity, then explain why exact recharge change needs local information about drainage, soils and other pathways. Construct a simplified input–output–storage balance and label its assumptions. Explain how the same rainfall total can lead to different river and groundwater responses after land cover changes.

Vyyuha Quick Recall

STORE: Storage; Transfers; Ordered accounting boundary; Recharge distinction; Exchanges with connected waters.