| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Electromagnetic wave | A form of energy that can travel through space. |
| Radiation | The direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves. |
| infrared radiation | A form of energy with wavelengths that are longer than visible light. |
| ultraviolet radiation | A form of energy with wavelengths that are shorter than visible light. |
| Scattering | Reflection of light in all directions |
| greenhouse effect | The process by which heat is trapped in the atmosphere by water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases that form a "blanket" around the earth |
| thermal energy | The total energy of a substance's particles due to their movement or vibration; also, the energy of motion in the molecules of a substance. |
| Temperature | The average amount of energy of motion in the molecules of a substance |
| thermometer | An instrument used to measure temperature, consisting of a thin, glass tube with a bulb on one end that contains a liquid, usually mercury or alcohol. |
| Heat | the movement of thermal energy from one substance to another. |
| Conduction | The transfer of heat through direct physical contact. |
| Convection | The transfer of heat by movement of currents within a fluid. |
| Wind | The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure. |
| Anemometer | An instrument used to measure wind speed. |
| wind-chill factor | Increased cooling caused by the wind. |
| local wind | Wind that blows over short distances. |
| sea breeze | The flow of air from an ocean or lake to the land. |
| land breeze | The flow of air from land to a body of water. |
| Monsoons | Sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons. |
| global winds | Winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances |
| Coriolis effect | The way Earth's rotation makes winds in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right and winds in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left. |
| latitude | The distance north or south from the equator, measured in degrees. |
| jet streams | Bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above Earth's surface. |
| evaporation | The process that occurs when vaporization takes place only on the surface of a liquid; also, the process by which molecules at the surface of a liquid, such as water, absorb enough energy to change to a gaseous state, such as water vapor. |
| humidity | A measure of the amount of water vapor in the air. |
| relative humidity | The percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount the air can hold at that temperature. |
| psychrometer | An instrument used to measure relative humidity, consisting of a wet-bulb thermometer and a dry-bulb thermometer. |
| condensation | The change from the gaseous to the liquid state of matter; also, the process by which a gas, such as water vapor, changes to a liquid, such as water. |
| dew point | The temperature at which condensation begins. |
| cumulus | Clouds that form less than 2 kilometers above the ground and look like fluffy, rounded piles of cotton. |
| stratus | Clouds that form in flat layers. |
| cirrus | Wispy, feathery clouds made of mostly ice crystals that form at high levels, above about 6 kilometers. |
| precipitation | Forms of water such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail that fall from clouds and reach Earth's surface. |
| rain gauge | An instrument used to measure the amount of precipitation, consisting of an open-ended container topped by a collecting funnel and having a collecting tube and measuring scale inside. |
| drought | A water shortage caused by long periods of low precipitation in a particular area. |
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