Semester 2 Chapter 1 Vocabulary

study cards for test January 15 Wednesday

Cirrus

High clouds made up of ice crystals that form at Heights of 6,000 m

Coalescence

Processes that occur when Cloud droplets Collide and form larger droplets which eventually become too heavy to remain Aloft and can fall to Earth as precipitation

Condensation nucleus

Small particle in the atmosphere around which Cloud droplets can form

Conduction

the transfer of thermal energy between objects and contact by collisions between the particles in objects

Convection

The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated material from one place to another

Cumulus

Puffy lumpy looking clouds that usually occur below 200m

Dew Point

Temperature to which air is cooled at a constant pressure to reach saturation at which point condensation can occur

Exosphere

The outermost layer of Earth's atmosphere that is located above the thermosphere with no clear boundary at the top transitional region between Earth's atmosphere and outer space

Greenhouse Effect

The process by which certain gases in Earth's atmosphere trap heat, preventing it from escaping into space, warming the planet.

Humidity

Amount of water vapor in the atmosphere at a given location on Earth's surface

Latent heat

Stored energy in water vapor that is not released to warm the atmosphere until condensation takes place

Mesosphere

Layer of Earth's atmosphere above stratopause and below troposphere

Orographic lifting

Cloud formation that occurs when warm moist air is forced to rise up the side of a mountain

Percipitation

All solid and liquid forms of water including rain snow sleet and hail that fall from clouds

Radiation

The transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves, the transfer of thermal energy from the Sun to Earth by radioactive atoms

Relative humidity

Ratio of water vapor contained in a specific volume of air compared with how much water vapor that amount of air can actually hold( expressed as a percentage %)

Saturation

The point at which water molecules leaving the water's surface equals the rate of water molecules returning to the surface

Stratosphere

Layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere and is made primarily of concentrated ozone

Stratus

A layered sheet-like Cloud that covers much or all of the sky in a given area

Temperature Inversion

Increase in temperature with height in an atmosphere layer which inverts the temperature altitude relationship and can worsen air pollution problems

Thermosphere

Layer of the Earth's atmosphere that is located mesopause. oxygen atoms absorbs solar radiation causing the temperature to increase in this layer

Troposphere

Layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth's surface where most of the mass of the atmosphere is found and in which most weather takes place and air pollution collects