Cirrus cloud

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cirrus-cloud

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How high is Cirrus cloud?Above 20,000 feet (6,000 meters), often up to 40,000 feet (12,000 meters)
2. What is the scientific name?Cirrus
3. What is the primary constituent?Hexagonal ice crystals
4. What are cirrus clouds?Cirrus clouds are thin, feathery clouds high in the sky made of ice crystals. They look like paintbrush strokes and are the highest type of cloud in the troposphere.
5. Where do cirrus clouds form?They form above 20,000 feet (about 6,000 meters) and can reach up to 40,000 feet (12,000 meters). They are found everywhere, from the tropics to the poles.

Adiabatic Cooling: Cooling of a gas or air parcel as it expands without exchanging heat with its surroundings.
Deposition: The phase transition of a substance directly from the gaseous to the solid state, without passing through the liquid phase.
Ice Nuclei: Microscopic particles in the atmosphere that facilitate the formation of ice crystals from supercooled water vapor.
Radiative Forcing: The difference between the rate of energy coming into the Earth and the rate of energy going out, influencing climate.