Video narration
Where does a puddle's water go when the Sun comes out? The Sun warms the puddle, and some of its water changes into an invisible gas that rises into the air. This is evaporation. The puddle gets smaller, but the water has not simply disappeared. It has moved into the air. As the rising water cools, it changes into tiny drops; many drops together make a cloud. This is condensation. When the drops become heavy, water falls from clouds as rain. That is precipitation. The rain runs into rivers and oceans, where water collects. This is collection. Some of that water is warmed by the Sun again, and the journey begins once more. The water from your puddle may fall somewhere else, but it is still part of the same repeating journey. So where did your puddle's water go? Up into the air, into clouds, and back down as rain-then around again.