AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Surface runoff is defined as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, or hail) that reaches a surface stream without ever passing below the soil surface.

Detailed explanation-2: -Runoff is precipitation that does not soak into the soil but instead moves on the Earth’s surface toward streams.

Detailed explanation-3: -When precipitation falls over the land surface, it follows various routes in its subsequent paths. Some of it evaporates, returning to the atmosphere; some seeps into the ground as soil moisture or groundwater; and some runs off into rivers and streams.

Detailed explanation-4: -Runoff is the movement of landwater to the oceans, chiefly in the form of rivers, lakes, and streams. Runoff consists of precipitation that neither evaporates, transpires nor penetrates the surface to become groundwater.

Detailed explanation-5: -Infiltration and percolation are two related but different processes describing the movement of water through soil. Infiltration is defined as the downward entry of water into the soil or rock surface and percolation is the flow of water through soil and porous or fractured rock.