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Water and Humidity
vocabulary terms for the water cycle and humidity
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| hydrologic cycle | Scientific name for the water cycle |
| evapotranspiration | process in which water vapor enters the atmosphere either from the soil or from the leaves of plants |
| transpiration | process in which water vapor enters the atmosphere from the stomata of leaves |
| evaporation | process in which liquid water molecules re-enter the atmosphere as water vapor. |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface |
| hail | round pellets of ice that form inside cumulonimbus clouds |
| sleet | raindrops that freeze into ice particles before they hit the ground. |
| freezing rain | raindrops that freeze upon reaching the earth's surface |
| condensation | process in which water vapor becomes liquid water. |
| runoff | precipitation that reaches the surface of the Earth and drains into creeks, streams, and rivers. |
| infiltration | precipitation that reaches the Earth's surface and seeps into the ground |
| humidity | a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air |
| relative humidty | percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum water vapor the air could hold at a particular temperature |
| dew point | temperature at which condensation begins |
| dew | forms when the current air temperature equals the dew point temperature and both are above freezing |
| frost | forms when the current air temperature equals the dew point and both temperatures are below freezing |
| psychrometer | instrument used to measure relative humidity |
| rain gauge | instrument used to measure rainfall |