Exploring Atmospheric Phenomena: Clouds, Winds, and Radiation

1. Chapter 12 Notes The sky looks blue because of scattering.

2. The direct transfer of electrometric waves is called convection. • A form of precipitation in which rain freezes a it falls through the air is sleet. • Hailstones form only in the type of clouds called cumulonimbus.

3. On the Fahrenheit scale, the freezing point of water is 32. • Clouds form when air is cooled to the dew point. • The upward movement of warm air and the downward movement of cool air is called a convection current.

4. You compare the readings of a wet-bulb and dry-bulb thermometers to measure relative humidity. • Wind direction is measured with a wind vane. • In the Northern Hemisphere, global winds that blow from the southwest to the northeast are called prevailing westerlies.

5. Ultraviolet radiation can cause skin cancer. • The most common kind of precipitation is rain. • Temperature is the average amount of energy of motion of each molecule of a substance. • All winds are caused by differences in air pressure.

6. The three main types of clouds are cumulus, cirrus, and stratus. • The part of sunlight with the longest wavelength is infrared radiation. • Cirrus clouds are made mostly of ice crystals. • A wind blowing toward the north is called a south wind.

7. Monsoons are caused by unequal heating of sea and land.