Frost

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/frost

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 tall is Frost?Fractal patterns influenced by supersaturation, temperature, and surface properties
2. What is the physical process?Deposition: Direct phase transition from water vapor to ice
3. What is the thermodynamic requirement?Surface temperature below the frost point (which is below 0°C)

Deposition: The direct phase transition of a substance from a gaseous state to a solid state without passing through the liquid phase.
Frost Point: The temperature at which air becomes saturated with respect to ice, and frost begins to form.
Nucleation: The initial process of forming a new thermodynamic phase, such as ice crystals from water vapor.
Supersaturation (with respect to ice): A condition where air contains more water vapor than it can hold at equilibrium with ice at a given temperature.