The water cycle is considered a physical change. This process includes various stages such as evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. Throughout these stages, water changes its state between liquid, vapor, and solid (ice) without altering its chemical composition. For example, when water evaporates, it changes from liquid to vapor, but it remains H2O. Similarly, when it precipitates as rain or snow, its molecules are still intact and chemically unchanged.
In contrast, a chemical change results in the formation of new substances, which is not the case in the water cycle. Therefore, since the fundamental chemical structure of water remains the same during these transitions, we classify the water cycle as a physical change.