Has three stages - evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

The process you are referring to with the three stages - evaporation, condensation, and precipitation - is known as the water cycle or the hydrological cycle. Let’s break down each stage:

1. Evaporation: This is the stage where water changes from a liquid to a vapor. It occurs when water from oceans, lakes, rivers, and even from plants and soil, absorbs heat from the sun and turns into water vapor, which then rises into the air.

2. Condensation: After water vapor rises up into the atmosphere, the cooler air temperatures cause it to cool down and change back into tiny droplets of liquid water, forming clouds. This happens because cooler air cannot hold as much water vapor as warm air, leading to the transformation of vapor into liquid.

3. Precipitation: When the water droplets in clouds combine to become larger and heavier, the air can no longer support them, and they fall to the Earth's surface as precipitation in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail, depending on the temperature conditions. Once the water reaches the ground, it will eventually flow back into oceans and lakes, and the cycle will start over again.