How Weather Works Quiz

How can it rain one day and be sunny the next? Powered by heat from the Sun, the air that surrounds you stirs and swirls. This constant mixing produces storms, calm weather, and everything in between. What causes rain and where does the water come from? Do the activity below to find out.

What occurs when moist air is lifted and cools?

• Clouds form where air is heated, at mountain ranges, and where cold air meets warm air.

• Clouds form only at mountain ranges.

• Clouds form only where cold air meets warm air.

What happens when rays from the Sun heat the ground and the air next to it?

• The warm air rises and cools, and some water vapor condenses and forms clouds.

• The warm air sinks and heats up, causing no cloud formation.

• The warm air remains at the ground level and does not affect cloud formation.

What happens as moist air moves over mountains?

• It is lifted and cools, forming clouds that can cover mountains for long periods of time.

• It sinks and heats up, causing no cloud formation.

• It remains at the same temperature and does not form clouds.

When the air is warm, water vapor forms raindrops that fall as rain.

• True

• False

How does precipitation occur and what determines the type of precipitation that falls to Earth?

What is a front?

Describe the difference between cold fronts and warm fronts.

What is the difference between a watch and a warning? How can you keep safe during a tornado warning?

Think Critically: Explain why some fronts produce stronger storms than others.