Q 01/05

Which amateur meteorologist proposed the Latin cloud-naming system in 1802?

A) Francis Beaufort

B) Luke Howard

C) Robert FitzRoy

D) John Dalton

Answer · why

B) Luke Howard

Luke Howard made chemicals for a living and watched the sky as a hobby; his cloud names so delighted Goethe that the poet wrote verses in his honour.

Q 02/05

How many basic cloud genera does the modern international classification recognise?

A) Twelve

B) Four

C) Seven

D) Ten

Answer · why

D) Ten

They come from five physical forms sorted by altitude: sheets, heaps, rolls, towers and wisps.

Q 03/05

What does the Latin word 'cumulus' mean?

A) Wool or fleece

B) Smoke or vapour

C) Heap or pile

D) Dome or vault

Answer · why

C) Heap or pile

Heap or pile: the same Latin root gives us 'accumulate', and a cumulus is just that, warm moist air heaping upward until it shows as cloud.

Q 04/05

The name of the high, wispy cirrus cloud comes from a Latin word meaning what?

A) Curl or fringe

B) Wing or sail

C) Ice or frost

D) Ribbon or band

Answer · why

A) Curl or fringe

Curl or fringe: to the Romans a cirrus was a curl or lock of hair, which is why the name went to the thin, trailing streaks that weather-watchers call...

Q 05/05

The cloud name 'stratus' comes from a Latin word meaning what?

A) Tower

B) Layer

C) Wave

D) Shadow

Answer · why

B) Layer

Layer: stratus literally means spread out or laid down, the same root that gives geologists the strata of rock they read like pages.