The main source of energy
What is the sun?
a visible collection of tiny water droplets or frozen ice pieces floating in the air
What is a cloud?
rain, hail, sleet, or snow
What is precipitation?
large areas of air with similar temperatures
What are air masses?
The radiation from the sun warms the ocean water and water vapor rises in the air.
What is evaporation?
condensed water on objects on the surface of the earth whose temperature has reached the dewpoint temperature
What is dew?
a cloud that forms near the ground as the air temperature at the surface cools to the dewpoint temperature
What is fog?
the area where a cooler air mass and a warmer air mass join
What is a front?
The amount of water vapor in the air.
What is humidity?
These clouds are very high, thin, and see-through
What are cirrus clouds?
The change of state of a gas directly into a solid. Frost is a product of this when the dewpoint falls below freezing point of water.
What is deposition?
The type of front that takes place when cold air mass runs into a warmer air mass.
What is a cold front?
Stationary front
What is a front that is not moving?
The pattern in which water travels throughout the environment.
What is the water cycle?
clouds that have flat bottoms and large, puffy shapes (almost like cotton balls)
What are cumulus clouds?
The distance between earth and the bottom of a cloud.
What is ceiling?
The type of front where a warm air mass is moving into a cold air mass.
What is a warm front?
a low pressure area at the center of all storms; the air inside these low pressure areas are spiraling upwards into its center
What is a cyclone?
carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor
What are greenhouse gases?
Clouds that are long, flat and seem to fill up the sky like a large sheet
What are stratus clouds?
tiny particles of dust, dirt, smoke, etc. that allow water vapor to hold onto before it can condense to from a cloud
What is condensation nuclei?
The type of front in which the cooler air mass from a cold front runs into the cooler air mass inside a warm front.
What is an occuluded front?