ch18 moisture, clouds, precipitation
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Created by:
lindseyeichelman on January 15, 2011
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26 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 most important gas in the atmosphere | water vapor |
| specific humidity | the amount of water vapor actually present in the air |
| relative humidity | the percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount the air could hold |
| capacity | the amount of water vapor air can hold |
| formula for RH | SH / capacity x 100 |
| dew point | the temperature at which the water vapor in the air becomes saturated and condensation begins |
| saturation | air is full of water vapor and can hold no more |
| how do clouds form | 1. sun heats earth, earth heats the air 2. warm air rises, it expands and cools 3. cools until it reaches RH = 100% - saturation 4. water vapor condenses into liquid water 5. clouds = condensation |
| stratus clouds | low in the sky, made of water, grayish, flat , cover most of the sky, create all day rain but not thunderstorms or hail |
| cumulous clouds | middle level in the sky, made of water, look like cotton balss, white and puffy, only clouds that can produce hail and thunderstorms |
| cirrus clouds | really high in the sky, made of ice, thin whispy and see through, do not cover much of the sky, create no precipitation |
| how are clouds classified | shape and weight |
| nimbus and nimbo | rain clouds |
| cirro | high in sky |
| alto | middle level |
| condensation nuclei | a solid particle where water vapor needs to condense salt, dust, smoke |
| definition of rain | drops of water that fall from a cloud and hace a diameter of at least 0.5mm |
| sleet | rain that freezes as it falls, a type of precipitation that forms when it falls through a layer of freezing air |
| glaze | also known as freezing |
| hail | precipitation of ice pellets when there are strong rising air currents |
| sublimation | solid to gas |
| deposition | gas to solid |
| condensation | gas to liquid |
| freezing | liquid to solid |
| evaporation | Liquid to Gas |
| melting | Solid to Liquid |
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