1. Chapter 23 Section 3 Handout
Precipitation

2. 1
Any form of water that falls to Earth’s surface from the clouds is called:
precipitation

3. 2 Name four major types of moisture that falls from the air to Earth.
Rain
Snow
Sleet
Hail

4. 3
Rain:
Liquid precipitation

5. 4
Drizzle:
Rain consisting of drops smaller than 0.5 mm in diameter

6. 5
Snow:
Precipitation consisting of ice particles

7. 6
Sleet:
Clear ice pellets formed when rain falls through a layer of freezing air

8. 7
Glaze ice:
A thick layer of ice on a surface

9. 8
Ice storm:
The condition which produces glaze ice

10. 9
Hail:
Solid precipitation in the form of lumps of ice

11. 10
What is the size of normal raindrops?
0.5 to 5 mm in diameter

12. 11
What is the most common form of solid precipitation?
snow

13. 12 What are the three forms in which snow may fall? Small pellets
Individual crystals
Crystals combining to form snow flakes

14. 13 How do snowflakes change in size as the temperature goes below 0oC?
They get smaller

15. 14
In what kind of clouds does hail usually form?
Cumulonimbus

16. 15 What process causes hail to form and fall to the ground?
Convection currents within clouds carry rain drops to high levels, where they freeze. They are carried upward again, accumulating additional layers of ice. They fall when they are too heavy for convection currents to carry.

17. 16
Why is hail potentially harmful?
It can damage crops and property

18. 17
The diameter of most cloud droplets is about:
20 micrometer.

19. 18
What must happen in order for a cloud droplet to fall as precipitation?
It must increase in size

20. 19 What two processes cause cloud droplets to fall to Earth?
Coalescence and supercooling

21. 20 What happens in the process of coalescence?
Small droplets combine to form larger droplets.

22. 21 During supercooling, a substance becomes extremely cold and:
does not change its state.

23. 22 What is NOT true of freezing nuclei?
They are a form of precipitation

24. 23 Why don’t super cooled water droplets freeze?
There are not enough freezing nuclei available

25. 24 What does water vapor from supercooled water droplets do?
It condenses on ice crystals that have formed on freezing nuclei.

26. 25 Which of the following are created by the process of supercooling?
Snow and rain

27. 26 What is the name of an instrument used to measure rainfall?
Rain gauge

28. 27
In one type of ________, a funnel fills one side of a divided bucket with 0.25 mm of rainwater, and then tips and sets off an electrical device that records the amount.

29. 27
In one type of rain gauge, a funnel fills one side of a divided bucket with 0.25 mm of rainwater, and then tips and sets off an electrical device that records the amount.

30. 28
What instrument measures snow depth?
Measuring stick

31. 29
About how much snow does it take to produce 1 cm of water?
10 cm

32. 30
What does Doppler radar measure?
The intensity of precipitation

33. 31 How does Doppler radar work?
It bounces radio waves off rain or snow and times how long the wave takes to return.

34. 32 Name three things meteorologist can determine with Doppler radar.
Location
Direction of movement
Intensity of precipitation

35. 33 How does Doppler radar save lives?
By warning people of approaching storms

36. 34
The process in which freezing or condensation nuclei are introduced into a cloud to cause rain is called:
Cloud seeding

37. 35
Which of the following are introduced into a cloud to cause rain because they resemble ice crystals?
Snowflakes
Hail stones
Carbon monoxide pellets
Silver iodide crystals

38. 35
Which of the following are introduced into a cloud to cause rain because they resemble ice crystals?
Silver iodide crystals

39. 36
The substance used in cloud seeding to cool cloud droplets and cause ice crystals to form is:
Powdered dry ice

40. 37 What are three ways in which cloud seeding materials are released?
Burners on the ground
Flares dropped from aircraft
Dropping from aircraft

41. 38 Does cloud seeding cause a significant increase in precipitation?
Sometimes

42. 39 What are two ways in which cloud seeding could help people?
It could ease drought and it could help control severe storms.