Some of Earth's precipitation ______ immediately or soaks into the soil.

• A. Evaporates
• B. Condenses
• C. Precipitates
• D. Transpires

Answer: (A)

After precipitation falls, water can either return to the air by evaporation or soak into the soil through infiltration. Evaporation is the process of liquid water turning into water vapor, which can happen almost immediately when rain hits warm, sunny surfaces or open water. The phrase “or soaks into the soil” describes the other common fate, infiltration, where water moves down through the soil to replenish groundwater. The other terms refer to different parts of the water cycle: condensation is gas turning into liquid, precipitation is the formation of rain or snow, and transpiration is plants releasing water vapor. So the best fit is evaporation, explaining why some precipitation vanishes into the air right away.