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Weather instruments & clouds

Match weather instruments and cloud types (cirrus, cumulus, stratus) to what they measure or indicate. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9

Weather instruments & clouds

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Which weather instrument measures air or water temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F): a thermometer or a barometer?
Which weather instrument m… · Weather instruments & clouds
2. What hard pellets of ice form inside strong updrafts of a thunderstorm cloud before falling to the ground: hail (hailstones) or mist?
What hard pellets of ice f… · Weather instruments & clouds
3. What do we call a cloud that forms right at ground level or sea level and reduces visibility: fog (or mist) or hail?
What do we call a cloud th… · Weather instruments & clouds
4. What are the fluffy, white, flat-based clouds that look like cotton wool floating in a blue sky on a sunny day: cumulus clouds or stratus clouds?
What are the fluffy, white… · Weather instruments & clouds
5. What lines on a weather map connect places that have the exact same atmospheric pressure: isobars or contour lines?
What lines on a weather ma… · Weather instruments & clouds
6. What causes the loud sound of thunder during a thunderstorm: lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave, or clouds bumping together?
What causes the loud sound… · Weather instruments & clouds
7. Which airport and marina instrument uses a striped fabric cone on a pole to show both wind direction and approximate wind strength: a windsock or a sundial?
Which airport and marina i… · Weather instruments & clouds
8. What scale from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force) is used by sailors and weather observers to estimate wind speed from sea and land conditions: the Beaufort scale or the pH scale?
0 · 12 · Weather instruments & clouds
9. What are the thin, wispy, feathery high-altitude clouds made of ice crystals in fair weather called: cirrus clouds or cumulonimbus clouds?
What are the thin, wispy, … · Weather instruments & clouds
10. Which weather instrument measures the relative humidity (water vapour content) of the air: a hygrometer or an anemometer?
Which weather instrument m… · Weather instruments & clouds
11. What are the tall, towering, anvil-topped storm clouds that produce heavy rain, thunder and lightning: cumulonimbus clouds or cirrus clouds?
What are the tall, towerin… · Weather instruments & clouds
12. What causes a rainbow to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on falling raindrops: sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets, or clouds paint the sky?
What causes a rainbow to a… · Weather instruments & clouds

12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9

Weather instruments & clouds

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Which weather instrument measures air or water temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F): a thermometer or a barometer?
Thermometer
A thermometer measures how hot or cold the air or liquid is.
2. What hard pellets of ice form inside strong updrafts of a thunderstorm cloud before falling to the ground: hail (hailstones) or mist?
Hail (hailstones)
Hailstones grow as raindrops are carried repeatedly up into freezing layers of a cumulonimbus cloud.
3. What do we call a cloud that forms right at ground level or sea level and reduces visibility: fog (or mist) or hail?
Fog (or mist)
Fog is a stratus cloud whose base touches the ground or sea surface.
4. What are the fluffy, white, flat-based clouds that look like cotton wool floating in a blue sky on a sunny day: cumulus clouds or stratus clouds?
Cumulus clouds
Fair-weather cumulus clouds have rounded white tops and flat bases.
5. What lines on a weather map connect places that have the exact same atmospheric pressure: isobars or contour lines?
Isobars
Isobars join points of equal barometric pressure; closely spaced isobars indicate strong winds.
6. What causes the loud sound of thunder during a thunderstorm: lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave, or clouds bumping together?
Lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave
A lightning bolt heats the surrounding air channel to ~30,000 °C, creating a sonic shock wave (thunder).
7. Which airport and marina instrument uses a striped fabric cone on a pole to show both wind direction and approximate wind strength: a windsock or a sundial?
Windsock
A windsock fills and extends horizontally when strong winds blow.
8. What scale from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force) is used by sailors and weather observers to estimate wind speed from sea and land conditions: the Beaufort scale or the pH scale?
Beaufort scale
Admiral Francis Beaufort devised the 0–12 wind force scale based on observable wave and tree motion.
9. What are the thin, wispy, feathery high-altitude clouds made of ice crystals in fair weather called: cirrus clouds or cumulonimbus clouds?
Cirrus clouds
Cirrus clouds form high in the troposphere and look like delicate white feathers.
10. Which weather instrument measures the relative humidity (water vapour content) of the air: a hygrometer or an anemometer?
Hygrometer
A hygrometer measures how much moisture is held in the air.
11. What are the tall, towering, anvil-topped storm clouds that produce heavy rain, thunder and lightning: cumulonimbus clouds or cirrus clouds?
Cumulonimbus clouds
Cumulonimbus clouds are deep convective storm clouds associated with thunderstorms.
12. What causes a rainbow to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on falling raindrops: sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets, or clouds paint the sky?
Sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets
Each raindrop acts like a tiny prism, splitting white sunlight into a spectrum.

12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 7-9

Weather instruments & clouds

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Which weather instrument measures air or water temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F): a thermometer or a barometer?
Which weather instrument m… · Weather instruments & clouds
2. What hard pellets of ice form inside strong updrafts of a thunderstorm cloud before falling to the ground: hail (hailstones) or mist?
What hard pellets of ice f… · Weather instruments & clouds
3. What do we call a cloud that forms right at ground level or sea level and reduces visibility: fog (or mist) or hail?
What do we call a cloud th… · Weather instruments & clouds
4. What are the fluffy, white, flat-based clouds that look like cotton wool floating in a blue sky on a sunny day: cumulus clouds or stratus clouds?
What are the fluffy, white… · Weather instruments & clouds
5. What lines on a weather map connect places that have the exact same atmospheric pressure: isobars or contour lines?
What lines on a weather ma… · Weather instruments & clouds
6. What causes the loud sound of thunder during a thunderstorm: lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave, or clouds bumping together?
What causes the loud sound… · Weather instruments & clouds
7. Which airport and marina instrument uses a striped fabric cone on a pole to show both wind direction and approximate wind strength: a windsock or a sundial?
Which airport and marina i… · Weather instruments & clouds
8. What scale from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force) is used by sailors and weather observers to estimate wind speed from sea and land conditions: the Beaufort scale or the pH scale?
0 · 12 · Weather instruments & clouds
9. What are the thin, wispy, feathery high-altitude clouds made of ice crystals in fair weather called: cirrus clouds or cumulonimbus clouds?
What are the thin, wispy, … · Weather instruments & clouds
10. Which weather instrument measures the relative humidity (water vapour content) of the air: a hygrometer or an anemometer?
Which weather instrument m… · Weather instruments & clouds
11. What are the tall, towering, anvil-topped storm clouds that produce heavy rain, thunder and lightning: cumulonimbus clouds or cirrus clouds?
What are the tall, towerin… · Weather instruments & clouds
12. What causes a rainbow to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on falling raindrops: sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets, or clouds paint the sky?
What causes a rainbow to a… · Weather instruments & clouds

12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 7-9

Weather instruments & clouds

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Which weather instrument measures air or water temperature in degrees Celsius (°C) or Fahrenheit (°F): a thermometer or a barometer?
Thermometer
A thermometer measures how hot or cold the air or liquid is.
2. What hard pellets of ice form inside strong updrafts of a thunderstorm cloud before falling to the ground: hail (hailstones) or mist?
Hail (hailstones)
Hailstones grow as raindrops are carried repeatedly up into freezing layers of a cumulonimbus cloud.
3. What do we call a cloud that forms right at ground level or sea level and reduces visibility: fog (or mist) or hail?
Fog (or mist)
Fog is a stratus cloud whose base touches the ground or sea surface.
4. What are the fluffy, white, flat-based clouds that look like cotton wool floating in a blue sky on a sunny day: cumulus clouds or stratus clouds?
Cumulus clouds
Fair-weather cumulus clouds have rounded white tops and flat bases.
5. What lines on a weather map connect places that have the exact same atmospheric pressure: isobars or contour lines?
Isobars
Isobars join points of equal barometric pressure; closely spaced isobars indicate strong winds.
6. What causes the loud sound of thunder during a thunderstorm: lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave, or clouds bumping together?
Lightning rapidly heats the air, causing it to expand explosively as a shock wave
A lightning bolt heats the surrounding air channel to ~30,000 °C, creating a sonic shock wave (thunder).
7. Which airport and marina instrument uses a striped fabric cone on a pole to show both wind direction and approximate wind strength: a windsock or a sundial?
Windsock
A windsock fills and extends horizontally when strong winds blow.
8. What scale from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force) is used by sailors and weather observers to estimate wind speed from sea and land conditions: the Beaufort scale or the pH scale?
Beaufort scale
Admiral Francis Beaufort devised the 0–12 wind force scale based on observable wave and tree motion.
9. What are the thin, wispy, feathery high-altitude clouds made of ice crystals in fair weather called: cirrus clouds or cumulonimbus clouds?
Cirrus clouds
Cirrus clouds form high in the troposphere and look like delicate white feathers.
10. Which weather instrument measures the relative humidity (water vapour content) of the air: a hygrometer or an anemometer?
Hygrometer
A hygrometer measures how much moisture is held in the air.
11. What are the tall, towering, anvil-topped storm clouds that produce heavy rain, thunder and lightning: cumulonimbus clouds or cirrus clouds?
Cumulonimbus clouds
Cumulonimbus clouds are deep convective storm clouds associated with thunderstorms.
12. What causes a rainbow to appear in the sky when the Sun shines on falling raindrops: sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets, or clouds paint the sky?
Sunlight is refracted, reflected and dispersed into colours inside the water droplets
Each raindrop acts like a tiny prism, splitting white sunlight into a spectrum.

12 questions · Seed 53 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification