Free Practice Quiz Question List

1 The Hydrologic Cycle Online Quiz Questions

Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 1 The Hydrologic Cycle, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.

20 questions

True or false

1 point

A learner traces a water molecule through several stores and asks where the hydrologic cycle must begin. True or false: the cycle has one fixed starting point that every water molecule passes through first.

A
True
B
False

Choose one

1 point

A lake receives precipitation, streamflow, and groundwater inflow, and loses water through evaporation, seepage, and outflow. Under which condition will the lake's stored water increase?

A
Its evaporation and outflow together exceed precipitation and inflow.
B
Its precipitation and inflow together exceed evaporation and outflow.
C
Its inflow exactly matches its outflow, regardless of precipitation or evaporation.
D
Its outflow exceeds its inflow, but its evaporation is lower than its precipitation.

Written response

1 point

A land surface loses water vapor both from wet surfaces and from plant leaves. What is the combined name for these two processes?

Fill in the blank

1 point

When water vapor cools and becomes liquid droplets or ice crystals, the process is .

True or false

1 point

True or false: humid air can slow evaporation from a wet surface.

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

What term describes groundwater flowing into a stream?

Fill in the blank

1 point

As precipitation enters the soil and then moves deeper underground to replenish groundwater, it undergoes followed by percolation.

Choose one

1 point

After rain falls on a hillside, which role of gravity helps move water through the hydrologic cycle?

A
It supplies the energy that evaporates water from the ocean.
B
It changes water vapor into cloud droplets.
C
It moves runoff and water in soil and rock toward lower elevations.
D
It causes plants to release water vapor from their leaves.

Choose all

1 point

Select all statements supported by the hydrologic cycle. How can climate conditions affect water movement or storage?

A
Warm, sunny, and often windy conditions can increase evaporation.
B
Humid air can slow evaporation.
C
Winds can transport water vapor so precipitation falls far from where the water evaporated.
D
Dry regions always have permanent, steady streamflow.
E
Cold regions can hold much of their water as snow and ice.

Choose one

1 point

How can clouds influence climate as part of the hydrologic cycle?

A
They determine the exact amount of water held in the oceans.
B
They affect how much sunlight reaches the surface and how much heat escapes to space.
C
They stop water vapor from being transported by winds.
D
They make every region receive the same amount of precipitation.

Choose all

1 point

Select all routes that precipitation may take after it reaches land.

A
Some water can evaporate from the land.
B
Plants can take up some water.
C
All water must immediately flow overland into the ocean.
D
Some water can remain temporarily in snow or lakes.
E
Some water can soak into the ground.
F
Some water can flow overland into streams.

Open ended

1 point

Explain how solar energy and gravity each help move water through the hydrologic cycle. Include one example of a process driven by each.

Choose one

1 point

Snow on a surface changes directly into water vapor without first becoming liquid. Which process is occurring?

A
Melting
B
Condensation
C
Sublimation
D
Freezing

Written response

1 point

A lake holds water between periods of inflow and outflow. What hydrologic-cycle term describes a place where water is held?

True or false

1 point

A scientist begins tracking a water molecule while it is in the ocean. Does this make the ocean the hydrologic cycle’s fixed starting point?

A
True
B
False

Written response

1 point

A water-budget estimate combines evaporation from wet surfaces with water vapor released by plants. What is this combined process called?

Choose one

1 point

Which explanation correctly describes how solar energy and gravity contribute to water moving through the hydrologic cycle?

A
Gravity supplies the energy for evaporation, while sunlight pulls water downhill.
B
Sunlight supplies energy for evaporation, while gravity returns water to the surface and moves it downhill.
C
Wind supplies energy for evaporation, while condensation pulls water downhill.
D
Condensation supplies energy for evaporation, while sunlight moves water through soil.

Choose one

1 point

Over a period of time, precipitation, streamflow, and groundwater together bring more water into a lake than evaporation, seepage, and outflow remove. What happens to the lake’s water storage?

A
The lake’s storage decreases because any outflow exceeds precipitation.
B
The lake’s storage stays the same because groundwater inflow does not count.
C
The lake’s storage increases because total inflow exceeds total outflow.
D
The lake’s storage stays the same because evaporation balances streamflow.

Choose one

1 point

Which set of local conditions would generally favor faster evaporation from a wet surface?

A
Warm, sunny, and windy conditions with relatively dry air over a wet surface.
B
Cool, humid conditions with little wind over a wet surface.
C
Humid air over a shaded surface with low temperatures.
D
Cold, still conditions over a wet surface.

Choose one

1 point

Water evaporates from the ocean and later falls as precipitation inland. Which process best explains how the water traveled away from the ocean before falling?

A
Water vapor must condense immediately above the surface where it evaporated.
B
Gravity carries water vapor horizontally across the atmosphere.
C
Precipitation can fall far from an evaporation site only if the water first becomes groundwater.
D
Winds can transport water vapor before it condenses and falls as precipitation elsewhere.

1 The Hydrologic Cycle Online Quiz Questions

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