1. By: Vivian Greene and Cloudia Wittich
2009
By: Vivian Greene and Cloudia Wittich

2. What are clouds?
Clouds are water droplets or ice crystals that are in the Earths troposphere (the bottom part of the Earth's atmosphere)

3. Dew Point and Condensation
Condensation- when water vapor becomes a liquid
Dew point- temperature where water vapor condenses into a liquid.
Clouds form when water vapor sticks to dust particles and condenses in the air

4. How do clouds form? Clouds form when the air rises.
As air rises it cools.
Cooler air cannot hold as much water vapor as warmer air.
As the temperature reaches the dew point, the water vapor will condense on dust particles.
A cloud is formed!

5. Formation of Clouds and Precipitation
Chapter 16
Section 1 Water in the Air
Formation of Clouds and Precipitation
Click below to watch the Visual Concept.
Visual Concept

6. What are the different types of clouds?
Clouds are classified by their altitude and appearance (form/shape and altitude)
Each type of cloud forms in a different way and brings its own type of weather
There are 3 main forms of clouds
The main forms are, cirrus, stratus, cumulus

7. Cloud Prefixes Cirro: means wisp of hair (highest clouds)
Alto: means high (name given to mid-level clouds).
Nimbo/nimbus: means rain. The cloud can make precipitation
Cumulo: means heap. (piled-up clouds)
Strato= means layer
There is no prefix for low-altitude clouds

8. Cirrus Cirrus is Latin for curl or wisp
Cirrus clouds look like curls of white hair.
Very high, made of ice crystals
Can indicate a change in the weather.

9. Stratus Look like fog that does not reach the ground.
Stratus: Latin for sheet or layer
Stratus clouds look like a gray, flat blanket that covers the entire sky.
Look like fog that does not reach the ground.
Usually no precipitation, but sometimes they may drizzle.

10. Cumulus In Latin cumulus means heap
Cumulus clouds look like a heap of whipped cream or cotton balls
Forms on sunny days
Signal good weather
If it gets higher it can cause bad weather

11. Common Clouds
Most clouds are a mixture of the three main clouds at different altitudes
Some common clouds are:
Cumulo-nimbus
Cirro-stratus
Cirro-cumulus
Alto-stratus
Strato-cumulus
Nimbo-stratus
Fog

13. Cumulonimbus thunderheads
thunderstorm clouds that can grow very high (over 40,000 feet)
Tremendous amounts of energy are released by the condensation of water vapor inside this cloud.
Lightning, thunder, and even violent tornadoes often occur with this cloud.

14. Cirrostratus
Cirrostratus are sheet-like, high-level clouds made of ice crystals.
Though cirrostratus can cover the entire sky and be up to several thousand feet thick, they are relatively transparent, as the sun or the moon can often be seen through them.

15. Cirrocumulus appear as small, rounded white puffs.
The small ripples in these clouds resemble the scales of a fish.
This sky is sometimes referred to as a "mackerel sky."

16. Altostratus
Gray or blue-gray middle level clouds composed of ice crystals and water droplets.
Often cover the entire sky.
In the thinner areas of the cloud, the sun may be dimly visible as a round disk.
Altostratus clouds often form ahead of storms that will produce continuous precipitation.

17. Stratocumulus
Usually dark, heavy looking clouds.
Rain is likely.

18. Nimbostratus
Uniform dark flat low featureless clouds that make precipitation.

19. Fog
Very low stratus cloud
In contact with ground

20. Bibliography
Prentice Hall Earth Science Teacher Edition
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