Final answer:
The water cycle moves water between the Earth's surface, including oceans, rivers, and lakes, and the atmosphere, involving processes like evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, is a continuous natural process by which water moves between two main places: the Earth's surface and the atmosphere. Beginning with evaporation and sublimation, water from the oceans and other bodies of water is turned into vapor due to the sun's energy.
This vapor rises and condenses into clouds, which results in precipitation (rain, snow, or hail) falling back to Earth's surface. Some of this water flows on the surface or percolates (infiltrates) into the ground, thus entering groundwater reservoirs. Eventually, all this water makes its way back to the oceans, completing the cycle.
These dynamic processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and sub-surface flow keep the Earth's water in a constant state of movement and transformation between its three states: liquid, ice, and vapor.