click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Weather/Water Cycle
Vocabulary Words for this unit
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Weather | The condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. |
Water Cycle | The continuous movement of water from water sources such as lakes and oceans, into the air, onto and over land, into the ground, and back to the water source. |
Evaporation | When liquid water turns into water vapor (gas). |
Condensation | When a gas cools and changes to a liquid. |
Transpiration | The process by which plants release water vapor into the air through their leaves. |
Precipitation | Water in the solid or liquid form that falls from the air to the Earth. |
Runoff | Water that flows across land and collects in rivers, streams, and eventually the oceans. |
Infiltration | Surface water that is absorbed into the ground. |
Ground Water | Water stored underground. |
Humidity | The amount of water vapor or moisture in the air. |
Relative Humidity | As a given temperature. The amount of moisture air contains compared to the maximum it should be able to hold. |
Dew Point | The temperature to which air must cool to be completely saturated. |
Cloud | A collection of millions of tiny water droplets or ice crystals. |
Air Mass | A large body of air that has similar temperature and moisture throughout. |
Front | The boundary where 2 different air masses meet. |
Thunderstorms | Small intense weather systems that produce strong winds, heavy rain, lightning, and thunder. |
Tornado | A small rotating column of air that has high wind speed and low central pressure and that touches the ground. |
Hurricane | A large rotating tropical weather system with wind speed of at least 119 km/hr. |
Cirrus | Thin, feathery white clouds formed at high altitudes. |
Stratus | Clouds that form in layers. |
Cumulus | Puffy white clouds that tend to have flat bottoms. |
Climate | The average weather conditions in an area over a long period of time. |
Latitude | The distance north or south from the equator, measured in degrees. |
Prevailing wind | Winds that blow mainly from one direction. |