SOL Study Book
Fourth Grade
Weather
Table of Contents
Pages 1-2: Weather
Page 3:
Weather Instruments
Page 4:
Clouds
Page 5:
Precipitation
Page 6:
Storms
Page 7:
Meteorologist
Pages 8-13: Practice Questions
Weather
Temperature is the measure of the amount of heat
energy in the atmosphere.
Climate is the study of the weather over a period of time.
Humidity is the amount of moisture in the atmosphere.
Air Mass is a large body of air with the same temperature
and moisture. When air masses meet, you see changes in
the weather and precipitation.
Air Pressure is the amount that air presses or pushes
down on anything. Air pressure is due to the weight of
the air. It is determined by several factors including the
temperature of the air. The higher you are the less air
presses down on you, because there is less air above you.
Page 1
Weather
A Front is the boundary between air masses of different
temperature and humidity.
Warm Front Lighter warm air is lifted up over the cold
air. As the air rises, it cools and steady precipitation
develops.
Cold Front The cold air pushes the lighter warm air up.
Clouds may develop. The sudden rising of warm air may
lead to showers and/or thunderstorms.
When a warm air mass pushes into a colder air mass, this
is called a warm front. When cold air pushes into an area
of warmer air, a cold front forms. Fronts usually bring
changing weather.
Page 2
Weather Instruments
Thermometer -- a tool that measures temperature,
Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Barometer -- a tool that measures air pressure.
Anemometer -- a tool that measures the speed of wind.
Rain Gauge -- a tool that measures precipitation.
Page 3
Clouds
Cirrus clouds are made of ice crystals. They have wispy
shapes, like feathers. They are very high in the
atmosphere. You often see these clouds in fair weather.
Stratus clouds form in layers, like blankets piled on top
of one another. Fog is a stratus cloud near Earth’s
surface. You might see stratus clouds when it rains.
Cumulus clouds are puffy clouds, like cotton that appear
to rise from a flat bottom. You often see these clouds in
fair weather. However, they can grow larger and darker
and bring rain.
Cumulo-nimbus clouds are also called “thunderheads”.
They are dark in color and have an anvil shape at the top.
These clouds bring rain and thunderstorms.
Page 4
Precipitation
Four types of precipitation are caused by different
conditions in the atmosphere. The type of precipitation
depends on the temperature outdoors. the types of
precipitation are: rain, snow, sleet, and hail.
Rain occurs when the temperature in the clouds is
warmer, and above freezing.
Snow forms in clouds that have a very cold air
temperature. The water drops freeze and make the tiny
ice crystals you know as snow.
Sleet forms when drops of rain freeze as they fall. Sleet
is made of tiny pellets of ice.
Hail balls of ice form when rain freezes and is pushed
higher in the air by strong winds. As a piece of hail is
blown higher, another layer of ice is added to it. It will
keep getting bigger until it is too heavy for the wind to
hold in the air.
The water cycle is what makes precipitation. The water
cycle is a continual circle. Water evaporates from the
earth, condenses, accumulates, and then falls back to the
earth, and then collects or accumulates only to start the
cycle over again.
Page 5
Storms
Extreme conditions in the atmosphere can create storms
such as thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, and
blizzards.
Thunderstorms are rain storms which have thunder and
lightning with them.
Tornadoes happen when a fast column of rising warm air
starts spinning. Sometimes it forms a tube of air like an
elephant’s trunk. Then it is called a tornado. It acts like a
vacuum cleaner.
Hurricanes are large circular storms that form over the
ocean. In the center of the circle, the air is calm, this spot
is called the eye. They are the largest and most powerful
storms.
Blizzards are heavy snowstorms with strong winds.
During blizzards it is difficult to see very far.
Page 6
Meteorologist
Meteorologists are people who study weather. They
collect information from many places, like weather
instruments, weather balloons, radar, and satellites. After
they collect the information, they make a prediction called
a forecast as to what the weather will be like. They tell us
the expected temperature, wind speed, humidity, air
pressure, and precipitation.
The National Weather Service is a government agency
that has weather stations collecting information all over
the United States of America. Many meteorologists get
information from them.
Page 7
Practice Questions
1. A scientist who studies weather is called a:
a. zoologist
b. etymologist
c. meteorologist
2. The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of
time is called:
a. temperature
b. climate
c. season
3. A stratus cloud looks like:
a. a cotton ball
b. a funnel cloud
c. a flat, gray blanket
4. This cloud is low to the ground, flat and gray. It often brings
steady rain or snow. What is it?
a. A stratus cloud
b. A cumulous cloud
c. A cumulonimbus cloud
5. What kind of clouds are thunderstorm clouds?
a. Cumulus
b. Stratus
c. Cumulonimbus
6. Cirrus clouds look:
a. thin and wispy
b. dark and dangerous
c. large and puffy
7. Cirrus clouds can be found:
a. high in the sky
b. close to the ground
c. only in summer
Page 8
8. Cumulous clouds are often:
a. found in a blue summer sky
b. indicators of rain
c. thin and featherlike
9. A storm of heavy rain, lightning and strong wind is a:
a. thunderstorm
b. tornado
c. blizzard
10. A blizzard is a:
a. very heavy snowstorm
b. thunderstorm
c. hurricane
11. What two types of clouds produce rain?
a. Cirrus and stratus
b. Cumulonimbus and nimbostratus
c. Fog and cirrus
12. What is not true about cirrus clouds?
a. They are the highest in the sky.
b. They are thin and wispy.
c. They usually bring light rain.
13. What is not true about cumulus clouds?
a. They look like cotton balls.
b. They are often seen on rainy days.
c. They are often seen in a blue sky, and they do not bring rain.
14. The largest and most powerful storms are:
a. thunderstorms
b. blizzards
c. hurricanes
15. Hurricanes start:
a. in the western part of the U. S.
b. in Europe
c. over the Atlantic Ocean near the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
Page 9
16. The boundary between two air masses is called a:
a. front
b. tornado
c. hurricane
17. Along a front, the weather is usually:
a. clear
b. rainy
18. When a cold air mass pushes a warm air mass out of the way, this is a:
a. cold front
b. warm front
19. A cold front will bring:
a. colder weather
b. warmer weather
20. A warm front brings:
a. warmer temperatures, and often a steady rain
b. thunderstorms and downpours
21. In addition to a change in temperature, fronts often bring:
a. precipitation
b. hurricanes
22. An anemometer measures:
a. air speed
b. rain
c. humidity
23. A thermometer measures the amount of _______ in the
a. water vapor
b. pollution
c. heat energy
atmosphere:
24. A rain gauge measures:
a. the type of precipitation
b. the amount of precipitation
c. the air pressure
Page 10
25. A barometer measures:
a. wind
b. air pressure
c. temperature
26. A rising barometer usually means:
a. clear, cooler weather ahead
b. warmer, rainy weather ahead
27. We us a ________ to measure how hot or cold it is.
a. barometer
b. anemometer
c. thermometer
28. The _______ makes the water cycle go.
a. clouds
b. sun
c. moon
29. When water evaporates it becomes:
a. clouds
b. water vapor
c. wind
30. When water vapor condenses, it forms:
a. tiny droplets of liquid
b. clouds
c. both
31. When water droplets become big and heavy, this occurs:
a. precipitation
b. hibernation
c. evaporation
32. What type of precipitation forms when raindrops pass through cold air
and freeze before reaching the ground?
a. rain
b. snow
c. sleet
Page 11
33. What type of precipitation forms when water molecules join together
until they are so heavy that they fall to Earth?
a. rain
b. snow
c. sleet
34. What type of precipitation is formed in very cold clouds when the water
vapor freezes into ice crystals?
a. rain
b. snow
c. hail
35. What type of precipitation is formed when strong winds push raindrops
higher in the clouds until they freeze over and over forming a ball made
of layers of ice?
a. sleet
b. snow
c. hail
36. The powerful flash of light, full of electrical current, that flows between
a cloud and the Earth during a thunderstorm is:
a. thunder
b. rain
c. lightning
37. The government agency that has weather stations
collecting information all over the U. S. is the:
a. National Weather Service
b. Norm Sprouse
c. National Archives
38. Warm air fronts are:
a. masses of warm air that move forward against masses of cold air
b. masses of cold air that move forward against masses of warm air
c. shown on the weather map by a blue line
Page 12
39. The weather instrument that has a Celsius and/or a Fahrenheit
scale is a:
a. thermometer
b. barometer
c. rain gauge
40. Thunder is made by:
a. the heat given off by lightning
b. angels moving furniture
c. positive and negative charges attracting
41. An air mass is:
a. large, puffy clouds moving fast
b. a large amount of air with different temperatures
c. a large amount of air with the same temperature and humidity
d. none of the above
42. A storm made of a spinning, funnel-shaped cloud is a:
a. hurricane
b. tornado
c. thunderstorm
43. Hurricanes are large, circular storms with a calm center called the:
a. eye
b. mouth
c. quiet zone
44. The amount of water vapor in the air is called
a. rain
b. humidity
c. precipitation
45. When “nimbo” is part of a cloud name, you should think of:
a. sunshine
b. rain
Page 13
-16IDENTIFY THE WEATHER INSTRUMENTS
Barometer
A.
Thermometer
Anemometer
B.
Rain Gauge
C.
D.
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