Earth Science Name Date Per. Study Guide: Water Cycle & Humidity 1. Explain the difference between Specific Humidity and Relative Humidity. Specific humidity refers to the actual amount of water vapor in the air, while Relative humidity refers to how close the air is to reaching its maximum capacity of water vapor (expressed as a percentage). 2. What are condensation nuclei and why are they important? Tiny specks of dust around which water droplets form. They are important because water vapor cannot condense into liquid water without a small solid particle to attach onto. 3. What are some features on earth that make up the Hydrosphere? Rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, and streams 4. Describe Transpiration : When plants release water vapor directly into the atmosphere. Where on earth do you think the most transpiration is occurring? Anywhere where there is heavy vegetation (Rainforests) 5. What two water cycle processes must liquid water on the ground undergo before it can be formed into clouds? and then 6. Sometimes, when you wake up in the morning, there are drops of water on the ground and on your windows, but it did not rain. What happened overnight to cause this? The temperature dropped to the Dew Point and the water vapor in the air condensed into liquid water. 7. Where is the heat stored that provides the energy that drives our weather and climate? In the Oceans 8. What does it mean when the air is saturated? It has reached 100% capacity and cannot hold any more water vapor. 9. Explain the difference between weather and climate. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a given place and time, and changes daily. Climate is an area s long-term weather patterns (usually in averages). 10. List all the factors that determine an area s climate: Latitude, Vegetation, Elevation, Prevailing Winds, Nearby Water, Ocean Currents, Topography 11. What is the temperature at which condensation begins referred to as? Dew Point 12. Which of the volumes of air below would be able to hold the most water vapor? Explain. D. It has the highest temperature, and warmer air can hold more moisture than cold air. 3⁰F 15⁰F 31⁰F 62⁰F 13. What is the name of the instrument that is used to measure humidity? Psychrometer 14. As the temperature of the air cools and gets closer to its Dew Point, what happens to the Relative Humidity? _It increases. Cooler air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air, so as the temperature decreases, the percentage of water vapor in the air increases (even though the amount of water vapor stays the same). 15. On a sunny day during the winter, a large snow-bank will slowly decrease in size without the snow melting first. This is because the snow is changing directly from a solid to a gas. What is this process called? Sublimation
16. Write the name of the process that describes the change in the state of water below: Melting Water Vapor Freezing 17. Use the word bank below to fill in the blanks in the Water Cycle diagram: Accumulation Surface Runoff Groundwater (Sub-surface Runoff) Precipitation Transpiration Precipitation Transpiration Surface Run-Off Groundwater Accumulation Label each diagram below with the correct type of Precipitation (Sleet, Rain, Freezing Rain, and Snow): Rain Snow Sleet Freezing Rain
Using the table above, answer the following questions: 18. Dry-Bulb Temp. = 22⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = 20⁰C. What is the Dew Point temperature? 19 C 19. Dry-Bulb Temp. = -2⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = -6⁰C. What is the Dew Point temperature? -20 C 20. Dry-Bulb Temp. = 12⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = 12⁰C. What is the Dew Point temperature? 12 C 21. Difference between Temps = 8⁰C, Dew Point = 13⁰C. What is the Dry-Bulb temperature? 26 C
Using the table above, answer the following questions: 22. Dry-Bulb Temp. = 22⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = 20⁰C. What is the Relative Humidity? 83% 23. Dry-Bulb Temp. = -4⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = -6⁰C. What is the Relative Humidity? 54% 24. Dry-Bulb Temp. = 12⁰C, Wet-Bulb Temp. = 2⁰C. What is the Relative Humidity? 2% 25. Difference between Temps = 8⁰C, Relative Humidity = 36%. What is the Dry-Bulb temperature? 20 C
26. Air Temp. = 30⁰C, Dew Point = 22⁰C. What is the height of the base of the clouds? 1 km 27. Air Temp. = 40⁰C, Dew Point = 12⁰C. What is the height of the base of the clouds? 3.5 km 28. Air Temp. = 0⁰C, Dew Point = -8⁰C. What is the height of the base of the clouds? 1 km 29. Cloud Base Height = 2 km, Dew Point = 14⁰C. What is the air temperature? 30 C