which two were most likely formed by the slow build up from water drops.
Rain?
Yes, rain is indeed formed by the slow build-up of water drops in the atmosphere. To understand how rain is formed, we need to consider the water cycle.
The water cycle is a continuous process in which water evaporates from the Earth's surface, rises into the atmosphere, condenses into clouds, and eventually falls back to the Earth as precipitation. Rain is a type of precipitation that occurs when large water droplets in clouds combine and become heavy enough to fall to the ground.
Here's a step-by-step explanation of how rain is formed:
1. Evaporation: When the Sun heats up the Earth's surface, water from oceans, lakes, rivers, and even plants evaporates and rises into the atmosphere as water vapor. This process is called evaporation.
2. Condensation: As the water vapor rises, it cools down due to the decrease in temperature with altitude. The cooling causes the water vapor to condense into tiny water droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds. This process is called condensation.
3. Cloud Formation: Clouds are formed when millions of water droplets or ice crystals clump together due to various factors like air currents, temperature, and humidity. These droplets or crystals continue to collide and combine, forming larger droplets.
4. Precipitation: When the water droplets in the cloud become too heavy to stay suspended in the air, they fall to the ground as precipitation. If the temperature is above freezing, the precipitation will be in the form of rain. Raindrops can vary in size depending on the strength of the updrafts and the availability of moisture in the cloud.
Therefore, rain is the most likely form of precipitation that results from the slow build-up of water droplets in the atmosphere.