Help
Options
Didn't know it?
click below
click below
Knew it?
click below
click below
Don't Know
Remaining cards (0)
Know
retry
shuffle
restart
0:00
Embed Code - If you would like this activity on your web page, copy the script below and paste it into your web page.
Normal Size Small Size show me how
Normal Size Small Size show me how
PCS Earth Science
Chapter 11 Vocabulary - Atmosphere
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| coalescence | process that occurs when cloud droplets collide and form larger droplets, which eventually become too heavy to remain aloft and can fall to Earth as precipitation |
| condensation | the change form a gas to a liquid |
| condensation nuclei | microscopic particles on which water vapor condenses to form cloud droplets |
| convection | process by which, in a fluid being heated, the warmer part of the mass will rise and the cooler portions will sink |
| dew point | temperature at which air becomes fully saturated with water vapor and condensation forms |
| evaporation | the change of a liquid to a gas |
| exosphere | the outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space |
| heat | energy in transit due to a temperature difference between the source from which the energy is coming and a sink toward which the energy is going |
| humidity | amount of water vapor per volume of air, often measured in grams of water per cubic meter of air |
| lifted condensation level | height at which condensation occurs, which often corresponds with the base of clouds |
| mesosphere | 3rd layer of the atmosphere 50 to 80 km, most meteorites burn up here; the layer of the Earth's atmosphere immediately above the stratosphere |
| orographic lifting | cloud formation that occurs when warm moist air is forced to rise up the side of a mountain |
| ozone | a form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of the usual two |
| radiation | energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles |
| relative humidity | amount of water vapor in the air relative to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a given temperature before becoming saturated (filled) |
| stability | the state or quality of being stable |
| stratosphere | 12 to 50 km, ozone held here, absorbs UV radiation |
| temperature | a measure of how hot (or cold) something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object |
| temperature inversion | a deviation from the normal temperature distribution in the atmosphere, resulting in a layer of cold air temporarily trapped near the ground by a wamer, upper layer |
| thermosphere | the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases |
| troposphere | 0-17 km above Earth's surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmospheric water vapor. (temperature decreases with increasing altitude, pressure decreases) |
| conduction | form of heat transfer where heat energy is directly transferred between molecules through molecular collisions or direct contact |
Created by:
Ms.Sala
Popular Earth Science sets