Download Weather Facts

Weather Facts (Revised 2012)
Create your flashcards with the questions written on the front and the answers written on
the back. Keep them NEAT.
1. Q: The same water has been around_______________
A: Millions of years
2. Q: Air is matter because it ___________________
A: takes up space and has mass
3. Q: The atmosphere’s gas particles are made up of ________
A: 4/5 nitrogen, 1/5th oxygen and water vapor
4
Q: Plants use carbon dioxide during the process of _____
A: photosynthesis
5. Q: All the particles of air pressing down on the Earth’s surface is called ___
A: air pressure
6. Q: Scientists have divided the Earth’s atmosphere into _______
A: 4 layers
7. Q: Name the layers of the atmosphere starting closest to the Earth:
A: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
8. Q: Almost all weather happens where?
A: troposphere
9. Q: Which layer contains most of the Earth’s ozone, a kind of oxygen?
A: stratosphere
10. Q: Temperatures in the troposphere increase or decrease with height?
A: decrease
11. Q: Temperatures in the thermosphere increase or decrease with height?
A: increase
12. Q: What is weather?
A: The condition of the atmosphere at any moment
13. Q: The atmosphere stretches about 1000 km into space which is approximately
how many miles?
A: 620 miles
14. Q: Why does very little weather occur in the outside the troposphere?
A: Because there is very little water in the stratosphere so very few clouds can
form, and from there to the edge of space, there is no water and too little air for
any weather to occur.
15. Q: Which layer do larger planes tend to fly?
A: the stratosphere
16. Q: Weather changes because the _____ is constantly changing.
A: atmosphere
17. Q: As air warms, air pressure lessens or gets greater?
A: lessens
18. Q: Warm air holds more water so we say it has more _________
A: humidity
19. Q: What is precipitation?
A: rain, snow, sleet or hail
20. Q: Why do people measure atmospheric conditions?
A: to predict the weather
21: Q: What are some atmospheric conditions that can be measured besides wind
direction and wind speed?
A: air temperature, air pressure, precipitation and humidity
22. Q: When the sun heats the water, it turns into an invisible gas called water vapor.
This process is called________.
A: evaporation
23. Q: High up in the atmosphere, where the air is cooler, water vapor turns back into
liquid drops of water, forming cloud. This is called _____.
A: condensation
24. Q: When cloud drops come together, gravity returns water to the Earth’s surface as
____________________.
A: precipitation
25. Q: The transferring of water from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back is
called the____________
A: water cycle
26. Q: On clear nights, when the surface of the Earth cools quickly, water vapor may
condense to form a cloud near the ground called _____.
A: fog
27. Q: Weather scientists are called________.
A: meteorologists
28. Q: Clouds known as thunderclouds or thunderheads are called _________.
A: cumulonimbus
29. Q: Whispy clouds that are the closest to the Earth are called________.
A: stratus
30. Q: Which clouds are puffy and can produce light rain or snow showers?
A: cumulus
31. Q: The scientific name for table salt is _________.
A: sodium chloride
32. Q: The ocean is 96% water and __________.
A: 4% salt
33. Q: Salt in the ocean comes from __________.
A: run-off flowing over rocks from rivers and streams
34 Q: ___________% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.
A: Approximately 75%
35. Q: Although plants need water, they also put water back into the environment
through a process called _____________.
A: transpiration