CHAPTER 3 Key Terms

CHAPTER 3 Key Terms

Match each of the terms on the left with its definition on the right. Click on the term first and then click on the matching definition. As you match them correctly, they will move to the bottom of the activity.

Question

adiabatic cooling
adiabatic warming
advection fog
air parcel
cirrus
cloud
collision and coalescence
condensation
condensation nucleus
convective uplift
convergent uplift
cumulonimbus
cumulus
dew point
dry adiabatic rate
evaporation
evapotranspiration
fog
frontal uplift
hail
humidity
hydrogen bond
hydrologic cycle
hygrometer
ice-crystal process
latent heat
lifting condensation level (LCL)
millibar (mb)
moist adiabatic rate
negative feedback
nimbostratus
orographic uplift
positive feedback
precipitation
radiation fog
rain shadow
relative humidity
saturation
saturation vapor pressure
specific humidity
stable atmosphere
stratus
transpiration
unstable atmosphere
vapor pressure
A process in which interacting parts in a system stabilize the system.
A dome-shaped, bunched cloud, with a flat base and billowy upper portions.
The rising of an air parcel that is warmer and less dense than the surrounding air.
The rate of temperature change in an unsaturated parcel of air; 10°C/1,000 m (5.5°F/1,000 ft).
The bond between water molecules that results from the attraction between one water molecule’s positive end and another’s negative end.
The rate of cooling in a saturated air parcel; usually about 6°C/1,000 m (3.3°F/1,000 ft).
Fog that results from moist air moving over a cold surface, such as a lake or a cold ocean current, that lowers its temperature to the dew point.
A change in the state of water from liquid to gas.
A cloud type characterized by low, flat sheets of clouds.
(or dew-point temperature) The temperature at which air becomes saturated.
The altitude at which an air parcel becomes saturated.
An aggregation of microscopic water droplets and ice crystals suspended in the air.
The point at which an air parcel’s water vapor content is equal to its water vapor capacity.
Solid or liquid water that falls from the atmosphere to the ground.
The loss of water to the atmosphere by plants.
A cloud at or near ground level that reduces visibility to less than 1 km (0.62 mi).
The cooling of an air parcel through expansion.
An instrument used to measure humidity.
The warming of an air parcel through compression.
The dry, leeward side of a mountain range.
A process in which interacting parts in a system destabilize the system.
The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere.
A change in the state of water from gas to liquid.
A condition in which air parcels are cooler and denser than the surrounding air and will not rise unless forced to do so.
A body of air of uniform humidity and temperature.
Energy that is absorbed or released during a change in the state of a substance, such as during evaporation or condensation of water.
(or valley fog) Fog that results when the ground radiates its heat away at night, cooling the air above it to the dew point.
The ratio of water vapor content to water vapor capacity, expressed as a percentage.
The process by which cloud droplets merge to form raindrops.
A small particle in the atmosphere, about 0.2 μm in diameter, on which water vapor condenses.
A measure of atmospheric pressure; average sea level pressure is 1013.25 mb.
A high cloud with a feathery appearance that is composed of ice crystals.
The rising of air as a result of converging airflow.
The combined processes of evaporation and transpiration.
Rain-producing low-level sheets of clouds.
The vapor pressure at which saturation occurs.
The water vapor content of the atmosphere, expressed in grams of water per kilogram of air (g/kg).
The portion of air pressure exerted exclusively by molecules of water vapor.
A condition in which air parcels rise on their own because they are warmer and less dense than the surrounding air.
The rising of warm air masses where they meet relatively cold air masses.
(or Bergeron process) The process by which ice crystals grow within a cloud to form snow.
A cloud that extends high into the atmosphere and is capable of strong vertical development and of producing severe weather.
The movement of water within the atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
Hard, rounded pellets of ice that precipitate from cumulonimbus clouds with strong vertical airflow.
The rising of air over mountains.