IB ESS SL 4.1.1 Water Movement Drivers Question Bank
Explain how gravity, solar energy, pressure and topography drive water movement.
- Syllabus
- First assessment 2026
- Course
- ESS SL
- Level
- SL
Explain how gravity, solar energy, pressure and topography drive water movement.
Outline how energy drives the hydrological cycle.
primary source of energy driving hydrological cycle is solar energy; solar energy causes changes of state in water eg evaporation/sublimation/melting/transpiration; condensation of water releases (latent) heat energy causing air to rise/hurricanes; solar energy causes the temperature differences that create winds/cause movement of water vapour in the atmosphere/advection; kinetic/wind energy moves clouds (from ocean over land, usually); solar energy melts ice producing streams/lakes/rising ocean levels; solar energy causes both transfers (eg advection) and transformations (eg evaporation) in hydrological cycle; precipitation/run-off/streamflow occurs due to gravitational energy/difference in potential energy between the high and low positions; transpiration is driven by opening of leaf stomata which is due to chemical energy (cellular respiration in mitochondria);