Thunderstorm

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/thunderstorm

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. What is Thunderstorm known for?Essential for water replenishment and atmospheric nitrogen fixation
2. What is the cloud type?Cumulonimbus, characterized by significant vertical development
3. What is the charge separation mechanism?Collisions between ice particles and graupel within the cloud
4. What makes thunder and lightning happen in a thunderstorm?Warm, wet air rises and forms big clouds. Inside the clouds, water and ice collide and separate charges, building up electricity that finally jumps as lightning.
5. Why does thunder sound so loud and rumbling?Lightning heats the air to about 30,000 K in a tiny instant, making the air expand explosively. That fast expansion creates a shock wave that travels as thunder.

Updraft: A current of air moving vertically upward, crucial for thunderstorm development.
Nitrogen Fixation: The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia or related nitrogenous compounds.