Thermal Energy
Where does most of the energy from the sun go when it enters the atmosphere?
It gets absorbed by the surface (ground and ocean).
What are clouds mostly made of?
Water droplets or ice crystals
Energy from the sun causes liquid to change into a gas (water droplets turn into water vapor)
It cools down and the particles move closer together.
How do water droplets become supercooled?
Water droplets get pushed into the the coldest parts of atmopshere.
Name the 3 types of thermal energy transfer.
Solar radiation, conduction, and convection currents
What does relative humidity have to be at for clouds to form?
100%
What is precipiation?
Any form of water droplets falling from a cloud (frozen or not frozen).
Why did the soap bubble expand in the experiment?
Because the air molecules started to rise and pushed against the soap bubble.
How do hailstones grow in size?
They continue to collide with other supercooled water droplets and freeze.
What is conduction?
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through direct contact, when particles collide with one another.
What is the name of the process of putting more CCNs into the sky to help create more clouds?
Cloud Seeding
How much water on Earth is freshwater?
2.5%
How can density changes create wind?
Changes in density causes a convection current of cool air falling and warm air rising, resulting in surface winds.
What affects the strength of an updraft?
The temperature difference between the warm surface and the cold atmopshere.
What causes the movement of particles in a convection current?
Changes in density causes cool particles to sink and warm particles to rise.
What is the name of a hailstorm cloud?
Cumulonimbus
How can we drink dinosaur pee?
Because Earth's fresh water cycle is constant and continuous
Why does air become less dense as it gains kinetic energy?
The supercooled water droplets freeze instantly, trapping air molecules
What is the difference between temperature and thermal energy?
Thermal energy is the total amount of kinetic energy in a substance, and temperature is the average amount of kinetic energy in a substance.
What does cool, humid air need in order to start the process of condensation?
What are the two main factors that drive the water cycle?
What is the relationship between mass, volumes, and density?
Density is the amount of mass in a given volume. Density = mass / volume for
Explain the two explanations of how hailstones travel in a cloud.
1st- hailstones grow bigger moving within a cycle
2nd- hailstones continually rise upwards