Objectives & Vocabulary Chapter 18 Moisture, Clouds & Precipitation
18.1 Water in the Atmosphere
Objectives:
1. During phase changes when is energy absorbed and when is energy released?
a. Draw and label a diagram of phase changes including when energy is released and
absorbed
DO THIS:
Below each phase (solid, liquid, gas) draw the arrangement of molecules.
Label the letters A – D with the correction description of what phase change is occurring.
Label which “arrows” are absorbing energy and which “arrows” are releasing energy.
What is “latent heat?”
2. Compare relative humidity and dew point.
Define the following:
Humidity –
Relative Humidity –
Dew Point –
Saturation -
a. How do warm and cold air compare in their ability to hold water vapor?
Draw in circles to represent molecules of air for each temperature.
Which temperature has more “room” to add water vapor molecules to the diagram?
Therefore, which temperature of air can “hold” more water vapor?
Which diagram will be saturated with water vapor first? (have the least amt. of water vapor)
Therefore, which temperature reaches saturation point/dew point first?
b. Use a psychrometer to measure relative humidity
Answer the following:
Which thermometer will register a cooler temperature?
Why?
The farther apart the temperature readings of the
thermometers indicates what about the surrounding air?
The closer the temperature readings on the thermometer
indicates what about the surrounding air?
c. What can change the relative humidity of air?
What two things can you do to change the humidity of the air in a room?
Explain why a cold room can have a higher humidity than a warm room.
Vocabulary:
Melting
Sublimation
Humidity
Evaporation
Deposition
relative humidity
Freezing
latent heat
dew point
condensation
saturation
18.2 Cloud Formation
Objectives:
1. How do clouds form?
a. What happens to air as it rises?
2. What is the difference between stable and unstable air?
a. List 4 mechanisms that cause air to rise.
Vocabulary:
Condensation nuclei
Orographic lifting
dry adiabatic rate
fron
wet adiabatic rate
18.3 Cloud Types and Precipitation
Objectives:
1. How are clouds classified?
a. Identify different types of clouds
b. Differentiate between types of precipitation
Vocabulary:
Cirrus
stratus
cumulus
Nimbus (nimbostratus & cumulonimbus)
alto (altostratus, altocumulus)
types of precipitation (rain,snow,sleet,hail,rime,glaze)
Chapter 19 Air Pressure and Wind
19.1 Understanding Air Pressure
Objectives:
1. Describe the direction of air movement in high pressure and in low pressure.
a. What is the ultimate energy source for wind?
b. What direction does general weather patterns move across the U.S.?
Vocabulary:
High Pressure System
Coriolis effect
Low Pressure System
jet stream
19.2 & 19.3 Pressure Centers and Winds
Objectives:
1. Label the general pressure belts and how they create wind belts
2. How is an El Nino or La Nina event triggered?
Vocabulary:
Trade Winds
Easterlies
Doldrums
Westerlies
Horse Latitudes
El Nino/La Nina
Chapter 20 Weather Patterns and Severe Storms
20.1, 20.2 and 20.3 - Air Masses, Fronts, and Severe Weather
Objectives:
1. Classify the different types of air masses.
2. Most severe weather happens along what type of front?
3. Describe the atmospheric conditions that produce severe weather.
a. Describe the characteristics of: thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes and
monsoons
b. How do we measure the severity of tornados and hurricanes?
c. What does climate change indicate about severe weather?
Vocabulary:
Air mass
front
thunderstorm
tornado
Fujita scale
Monsoon
hurricane
eye of the storm
eye wall/storm surge
Saffir-Simpson scale