Space/Solar System
Weather Terms
Weather Instruments
Climate terms
Clouds
100
An object made mostly of dust, gas, and ice that orbits the sun with extremely long, sometimes irregular orbits. As it gets closer to the sun, sometime a tail appears.
What is a comet?
100
Precipitation that stays in solid form from the cloud to the ground. Has a crystal structure.
What is snow?
100
Used to measure temperature, technically the amount of kinetic energy in molecules.
What is a thermometer?
100
An area near the Arctic Circle that usually has permanent frozen ground, few trees and little precipitation.
What is a tundra?
100
The visible portion of a cloud is made up of this.
What is water or ice?
200
The four planets farther from the sun. They are made mostly of gases and their revolutions take much longer than the four planets closest to the sun.
What are the gas giants or outer planets?
200
liquid precipitation
What is rain?
200
Measures wind direction. Arrow points in direction wind is coming from.
What is a wind vane?
200
Measured in degrees north or south of the equator. As a result of the Earth's tilt on its axis, the higher the number of these imaginary lines, the colder the climate.
What is latitude?
200
Very high wispy clouds usually made of ice. Inidicate fair weather. Sometimes can indicate an approaching warm front.
What are cirrus clouds?
300
A system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.
What is a galaxy?
300
A form of precipitation where the liquid refreezes right before hitting the ground.
What is sleet?
300
Measures the amount of humidity in the atmosphere.
What is a hygrometer?
300
Defined as the long-term averages of weather conditions in a geographical area. Usually measured over at least 30 years.
What is climate?
300
White puffy clouds that look like cotton balls. Usually indicate fair weather. Can sometimes grow into rain clouds.
What are cumulus clouds?
400
any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)
What are asteroids?
400
A form of precipitation that always forms during thunderstorms in cumulonimbus clouds because of the rapid vertical movement of air. It is almost always a warm weather event but a solid form of precipitation. Some can be as large as a softball.
What is hail?
400
Measures wind speed. Converts the RPM of the spinning portion into a calculation of wind speed.
What is an anemometer?
400
These climate areas are defined by having little to no precipitation annually. Less than 10 inches per year.
What are deserts?
400
Flat, grey layered clouds. Cause light rain and/or steady rain.
What are stratus clouds?
500
Small planets with rocky surfaces that orbit closest to the sun including Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars
What are the inner planets?
500
The atmospheric conditions at a given place and time on Earth?
What is weather?
500
Measures the amount of precipitation that has fallen.
What is a rain gauge?
500
This area is found near the equator. Tends to have hot and humid climates with a great deal of rainfall.
What is a rainforest?
500
High towering clouds with tops sometimes up to 50,000 ft. Thunderstorm causing clouds with heavy rain.
What are cumulonimbus clouds?