4.1.1—Water movement drivers
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Objective
- 4.1.1
- Level
- SL
Choose the Driver of Each Water Movement
Sunlight supplies energy for evaporation; condensation releases latent heat; gravity drives drainage, runoff and flow downhill.
Separate phase change from movement. Solar energy changes liquid to vapour, while gravity moves precipitation through soil, rivers and groundwater toward lower elevation.
Sun warms a lake until water evaporates; after rain, gravity pulls runoff into a stream.
After precipitation, gravity drives drainage, run-off, streamflow and groundwater flow toward lower elevation; solar energy supplied the earlier phase-change energy.
Do not assign one driver to the whole cycle—different arrows have different causes.