Earth Science Chapter 18

what is fog?

"a cloud with its base at or very near the ground"

what is the cause of frontal wedging?

"a front produces, and the cooler air acts as a barrier which the warm air rises."

what must happened for precipitation to form?

"cloud droplets must grow in volume by roughly one million times"

what is the cause of orographic lifting?

"mountains block airflow"

what are the four ways air can rise?

"orographic lifting, frontal wedging, convergence, and localized convective lifting"

what is the cause of lifting from convergence?

"whenever air in the lower atmosphere flows together, lifting results"

Formation of precipitation in cold clouds is called the ______________ process

Bergeron

What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?

Humidity is the measure of water vapor in the air. Relative humidity is the humidity level compared to the actual capacity of the area measured.

Why does a parcel of air expand as it rises upward through the atmosphere?

It expands because "the atmospheric pressure decreases."

What happens when air that has reached its dew point is cooled further?

Once air is cooled further than the dew point, they become clouds, fog, or dew because the overflow of water vapor "condenses."

what is produced when two air masses collide?

a front

describe a temperature inversion

air temperature increases with height

name the low clouds a. stratus b. altostratus c. stratocumulus d. nimbostratus

c. stratocumulus d. numbostratus

the three types of __________ clouds are cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus

cirro

what is the typical resulting weather pattern from convergence?

cloud development and precipitation

what is the typical resulting weather pattern for localized convective lifting?

cloud formation and precipitation

what is the typical resulting weather pattern because of orographic lifting?

clouds and precipitation

what is the typical resulting weather pattern from frontal wedging?

clouds and rain

When a parcel of air reaches its dew point, the process of _______________ begins.

condensation

A parcel of air that is less dense than the surrounding air is __________ and will tend to rise

cooler

When a parcel of air is allowed to expand, it ______

cools

what is the best word that describes water in the liquid state below 0ºC? a. supersaturated b. coalesced c. saturated d. supercooled

d. supercooled

air temperature increases

decreases

water vapor is removed

decreases

what a parcel of air is cooled to the temperature at which it is saturated, it has reached its _____ _________

dew point

A sling psychrometer works because the amount of cooling that occurs in the wet bulb is directly proportional to the __________ of the air

dryness

Opposite change of state for condensation

evaporation

true or false? The rate of heating or cooling of saturated air is the dry adiabatic rate.

false

true or false? in warm clouds, raindrops form by the Bergeron process

false

true or false? unstable air tends to remain in its original position

false

describe a cumulus cloud

fluffly, round, (like a cotton ball)

ice pellets with multiple layers

hail

describe a cirrus cloud

high, wispy, thin

Match each situation to its change in relative humidity. (Increases, no change, or decreases) Water vapor is added

increases

air temperature decreases

increases

After a parcel of air rises past the condensation level, the rate of cooling decreases because of the release of _______ ______

latent heat

freezing

melting

drops of water that fall from a cloud and have a diameter of at least 0.5 mm

rain

what does a hygrometer measure?

relative humidity

for condensation to occur, air must be _______________

saturated

hail, sleet, or rain? small particles of ice

sleet

deposition

sublimation

true or false? Saturated warm air contains more water vapor than saturated cool air.

true

true or false? above the ground, tiny particles called condensation nuclei serve as surfaces for water-vapor condensation

true

true or false? clouds are classified based on form and height

true

true or false? fogs can be formed by cooling or by evaporation

true

true or false? localized convective lifting produces thermals that lift birds to great heights

true

what is the cause of lifting for localized convective lifting?

unequal heating of earth

clouds associated with lifting of _________ air often produce thunderstorms

unstable

The most important gas in atmospheric processes

water vapor

how can you tell from the name of a cloud if it is a middle-range cloud?

you can tell if it is a middle-ranged cloud because of the prefix "alto" which comes before the cloud name