Ch. 18 Sect. 1 & 3
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24 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 water vapor | the most important gas for understanding atmospheric processes |
| precipitation | rain, sleet, snow, and hail |
| water | can change from one state of matter to another at the temperatures and pressures experienced at Earth's surface |
| sublimation | the conversion of a solid directly to a gas |
| deposition | the process by which water vapor changes directly to a solid |
| condensation | change of state from a gas to a liquid |
| evaporation | the process of converting a liquid to a gas |
| latent heat | energy that is stored or released during a change of state of water |
| saturated air | air that has reached its water vapor capacity |
| warm, saturated air | contains more water vapor than cold air |
| relative humidity | the ratio of air's water vapor content to its capacity to hold water vapor at the same temperature |
| relative humidity | indicates how near the air is to saturation |
| dew point | refers to the temperature to which air would have to be cooled to reach saturation |
| air has a high relative humidity | when two temperatures read nearly the same on a psychrometer (no evaporation on the wet bulb) |
| increase in relative humidity | when the water vapor content of air stays the same and the air temperature is lowered |
| smog | NOT produced by condensation |
| dust and salt particles | examples of condensation nuclei |
| stratus | cloud type that is best described as sheets/layers that cover much or all of the lower sky |
| cumulus | cloud type that consists of cloud masses with a cauliflower shape (puffy) |
| alto | term used to describe clouds of middle height |
| nimbostratus cloud | a low cloud that blankets the sky and often generates precipitation |
| cirrus | cloud type that is in the high height range and wispy/feathery in shape/form |
| nimbus | term that "rainy cloud" |
| cumulonimbus | clouds often associated with thunder, lightning, and hail |
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