Water in the Atmosphere
Humidity & Dew Point
Clouds & Fog
Cloud Formation & Stability
Precipitation
100
What are the three states water can exist in within the atmosphere?
What are solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (water vapor)?
100
What is the definition of humidity?
What is the amount of water vapor in the air?
100
What are the three basic types of clouds?
What are cirrus, cumulus, and stratus?
100
What must happen to air in order for clouds to form?
It must cool to its dew point and become saturated.
100
What are the four main types of precipitation?
Rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
200
What process converts water from liquid to gas?
What is evaporation?
200
What is relative humidity?
The ratio of actual water vapor to the amount the air can hold at that temperature.
200
What type of cloud is puffy and resembles cauliflower tops?
What is cumulus?
200
What happens to air as it rises and expands?
It cools adiabatically.
200
What process forms precipitation in cold clouds?
The Bergeron process.
300
What is latent heat, and why is it important in weather processes?
What is stored heat energy during state changes that powers clouds, storms, and hurricanes?
300
What happens to relative humidity when temperature increases?
It decreases. Warmer air can hold more moisture.
300
What is the main difference between clouds and fog?
Fog forms near the ground, while clouds form higher in the atmosphere.
300
What is the difference between stable and unstable air?
Stable resists vertical motion; unstable rises freely.
300
What happens to snowflakes when they pass through a warm layer and then freeze again?
They form sleet.
400
What happens during condensation?
Water vapor becomes liquid, releasing latent heat and forming clouds or fog.
400
What is the dew point?
The temperature at which air becomes saturated and condensation begins.
400
What type of fog forms when warm, moist air moves over a cool surface?
What is advection fog?
400
What is orographic lifting?
When air is forced up over a mountain, cooling and forming clouds.
400
What is glaze or freezing rain?
Supercooled rain that freezes on contact with cold surfaces.
500
How does sublimation differ from deposition?
Sublimation = solid to gas; Deposition = gas to solid.
500
What tool uses a wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometer to measure humidity?
What is a sling psychrometer?
500
What is the name of fog formed by the mixing of cold air with warm moist air above a warm body of water?
What is steam fog?
500
What rate does unsaturated air cool when rising?
10°C per 1000 meters — the dry adiabatic rate.
500
How does hail form and grow in cumulonimbus clouds?
Ice pellets cycle through updrafts collecting supercooled water and forming layers.