Rainfall and Clouds

Question 1

What is condensation?

Answer 1

Water vapour (gas) cools and condenses into droplets (liquid) forming clouds.

Question 2

What is Through-flow?

Answer 2

Water FLOWING THROUGH the ground.

Question 3

What is Groundwater flow?

Answer 3

Water that has SOAKED into the ground and FLOWS UNDERGROUND.

Question 4

What is evaporation?

Answer 4

The sun warms the water (liquid) and turns it into water vapour (gas) which rises.

Question 5

What is Surface runoff?

Answer 5

Movement of water OVER land or THROUGH rivers.

Question 6

What is Infiltration?

Answer 6

DOWNWARDS movement of water INTO the ground. (water infiltrating the ground)

Question 7

What is Transpiration?

Answer 7

Water from the LEAVES of plants that EVAPORATE as water vapour into the atmosphere (when plants sweat).

Question 8

What are the types of rainfall?

Answer 8

• Convectional
• Relief
• Frontal

Question 9

What are clouds?

Answer 9

A cloud is a large GROUP of TINY WATER DROPLETS that we can see in the air.

Question 10

How do clouds form?

Answer 10

When water on Earth EVAPORATES into the sky and CONDENSES high up in the COOLER AIR.

Question 11

Cirrus

Answer 11

• high level
• thin and wispy
• found at heights greater that 20,000 feet (6,000 meters)
• made of ice crystals that originate from the freezing of supercooled water droplets
• occur in fair weather

Question 12

Cumulus

Answer 12

• white, puffy (poop clouds)
• normally below 6,000 feet
• usually lasts for around 40 minutes
• associate with fair weather
• but can cause short and heavy rainfall
• formed by frontal lifting / convection (rising of warm air), which then cools and condenses to form a cloud.

Question 13

Stratus

Answer 13

• greyish clouds that often cover the entire sky
• resemble fog that does not reach the ground
• usually no precipitation falls from Stratus
• but may drizzle (no heavy rain)
• when a thick fog lifts, the resulting clouds are low stratus

Question 14

Cumulonimbus

Answer 14

• dense, towering, vertical cloud
• that greek cloud
• forming from water vapour condensing in the lower troposphere
• capable of producing lightning / dangerous severe weather (e.g. tornadoes, hazrdous winds, large hailstones)
• zeus’ cloud