The Atmosphere - Chapter 2: Formation of Precipitation

Question 1

A raindrop large enough to reach the ground without evaporating contains roughly _____ times more water than a cloud droplet

Answer 1

A million

Question 2

How does a cloud droplet get big enough to become a raindrop large enough to hit the ground?

Answer 2

The cloud droplets coalesce into drops large enough to sustain

Question 3

What are the processes thought to explain the joining of cloud droplets before precipitation?

Answer 3

Bergeron process

collision-coalescence process

Question 4

Water in the liquid state below 0 is referred to as ______

Answer 4

supercooled

Question 5

What is the name for supercooled droplets that will freeze upon contact with solid particles that have a crystal form resembling that of ice?

Answer 5

Freezing nuclei

Question 6

Briefly describe the collision-coalescence process

Answer 6

Because large cloud droplets fall more rapidly than smaller droplets, they are able to sweep up smaller ones in their path and grow.