World Book Trivia Quiz For Kids--9/24-weather

Scientists who study the atmosphere and the weather are called meteorologists. These scientists forecast the weather—they tell what the weather will be in the near future. Some meteorologists provide weather information for businesses. The best-known meteorologists are those who give weather reports on radio and TV. But not all weather persons on TV and radio are meteorologists.

The word climate and the word weather do not mean the same thing. Weather is the condition of the air around a place over a period of days or weeks. The climate of an area describes a long-term weather pattern. To figure out the climate of an area, scientists must study its daily weather for many years.

As with almost any substance, air becomes more dense as it cools. The air particles pull closer together. As a result, cold air sinks and warm air rises. This difference in density between cold and warm air is what drives wind and creates thunderstorms.

humans play a part in climate changes. For example, Earth is slowly warming. This may be happening because there is more and more carbon dioxide gas in the air. Carbon dioxide is a normal part of our air, but it is also made by things that humans do. For example, carbon dioxide gas gets into the air when people burn fuel. People use fuel to heat their homes and power their cars. Carbon dioxide lets sunlight reach Earth's surface. But it keeps Earth's heat from escaping into space. So the temperature of Earth is slowly rising.

The kind of weather a place usually has is called its climate. Scientists can tell what a region's climate is by looking at the plants that grow there as well as the temperatures, humidity, and the precipitation. Rain and snow are two kinds of precipitation. Some areas have little precipitation but can be very humid. Weather can change quickly, but changes in climate take many years.

The four main kinds of air masses are cold and dry, cold and humid, warm and dry, and warm and humid. When two air masses meet, a front forms. A warm front is the leading edge of a warm air mass, and a cold front is the leading edge of a cold air mass. Most severe weather happens along the front between two different air masses.

Most weather takes place in the lowest part of the atmosphere, called the troposphere. The height it extends varies from about 12 miles (16 kilometers) above the ground near the equator to about 6 miles (10 kilometers) above the North and South poles.

The weather balloon lifts the radiosonde about 19 miles (30 kilometers) into the air. Eventually, the balloon pops or deflates. The radiosonde floats back to the ground by parachute.

Oddly enough, Arica is a coastal city on the Pacific Ocean. However, it is on the edge of the Atacama Desert, an extremely dry region on the border of Chile and Peru. There are regions of the Atacama that have never seen rainfall as long as people have kept records.

There are many different kinds of clouds. Scientists gave them names that tell us what they look like. Clouds that look like layers or sheets are called stratus clouds. Cumulus clouds are piled-up masses of white clouds. Cirrus clouds are curly white clouds. These are the most common kinds of clouds.