What is the correct sequence of steps in the water cycle?

• A. Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection/runoff
• B. Condensation, evaporation, precipitation, collection
• C. Precipitation, evaporation, collection, condensation
• D. Evaporation, precipitation, condensation, collection

Answer: (A)

The water cycle starts with evaporation, where liquid water from oceans, rivers, and other surfaces turns into water vapor and rises into the air. As this vapor cools, it condenses into tiny droplets, forming clouds. When those droplets grow too large, they fall as precipitation—rain, snow, or other forms. After reaching the surface, water collects in bodies of water or runs off across the land into streams, continuing the cycle. So the correct sequence is evaporation, condensation, precipitation, then collection/runoff. The other sequences mix up the order by placing condensation before evaporation or precipitation before condensation, which doesn’t fit how water vapor first becomes liquid and then falls as precipitation. Evaporation can also come from transpiration by plants, but the overall order remains the same.