| 6. Rain |
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Rain is the result of the
condensation of water droplets in the atmosphere. When
the vapour from water rises due to heat from the sun,
it cools and condenses in large formations, clouds. If
the droplets rise to the upper atmosphere, where it is
colder, or run into a pocket of cold air, the droplets
become more condensed and thus heavier, and fall as rain.
Acid rain: A large part of the pollutants
that come from factories and the tailpipes of cars rises
into the atmosphere, where it combines with the water
vapour in clouds and forms acids (mainly sulphuric and
nitric). The falling rain from these clouds contains dissolved
acids.
The waste from industrialised countries may be carried
to healthy, green areas, producing a cycle of pollution.
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| Classifying: types and degrees.
Differences of type indicate differences between
types or classes of things, whereas differences
of degree indicate differences between things of
the same type or class. For example, the difference
between the height of a table and a house is a difference
of degree. The differences between a table and a
house, as things that belong to different classes,
are differences of type. To know if a difference
is of degree or of type, we need to know the criteria
upon which we establish the difference. This criteria
may be quantitative (height, for example), or qualitative
(use, for example). |
| In the following pairs, what class
of differences are we talking about: differences
of type or a differences of degree? |
| 1. |
Rain and hailstorm. |
| 2. |
Downpour and drizzle. |
| 3. |
Rain and snow. |
| 4. |
Storm and deluge. |
| 5. |
Blizzard and light snowfall. |
| 6. |
Rain and acid
rain. |
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| Painting. Pierre-Auguste
Renoir, 1841-1919. The
Umbrellas. |
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| Activity. Tell
a story about a walk in the rain. |
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| © Grup IREF 2003, with the support of the European Commission, DG XXII (Socrates/Comenius 3.2) |
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