Which of the following is the correct order of clouds in ascending order (lowest to highest) of height from surface? 1. Cirrocumulus 2. Nimbostratus 3. Cirrus 4. Altostratus Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)1, 2, 4, 3
- (b)2, 4, 3, 1
- (c)3, 2, 1, 4
- (d)2, 4, 1, 3
Correct — D, 2, 4, 1, 3. Cloud names encode height. Nimbostratus is the lowest of the four: it is the thick, grey, continuously raining sheet whose base sits in the low level and sinks further as precipitation thickens it. Altostratus carries the alto- prefix that marks the middle level, roughly 2 to 7 km in temperate latitudes, and is the greyish veil through which the sun shows as a watery disc. Cirrocumulus and cirrus both belong to the high level, above about 6 km, and both are made of ice crystals — the cirro- prefix is the marker. Between those two the paper takes cirrus as the topmost, which is the conventional ordering in Indian textbooks and is defensible on the numbers: cirrus forms anywhere from about 6,000 m to 20,000 m above sea level, the greatest heights in the tropics, and is the highest of the common cloud types. Reading the prefixes gives nimbostratus, altostratus, cirrocumulus, cirrus — that is 2, 4, 1, 3.
- (a)1, 2, 4, 3 — Starts with cirrocumulus, a high ice-crystal cloud, and then drops to nimbostratus. That is the sequence upside down at the front.
- (b)2, 4, 3, 1 — Gets the first two right and then places cirrus below cirrocumulus. Cirrus is the cloud conventionally taken as the highest, so the last two are swapped.
- (c)3, 2, 1, 4 — Puts cirrus, an ice cloud of the high level, at the bottom and altostratus at the top. Every prefix in the list argues against it.
Clouds are classified first by the level at which their base sits and then by form. The high level in temperate latitudes runs from about 5 to 12 km and holds the cirro- clouds — cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus — all of them ice. The middle level, about 2 to 7 km, holds the alto- clouds, altostratus and altocumulus. The low level holds stratus, stratocumulus and nimbostratus, the last of which grows through more than one level. Cumulonimbus is the exception that spans the whole troposphere from a low base to an anvil top.
The fast route is to read prefixes rather than recall altitudes. Cirro- is high, alto- is middle, and a bare stratus or nimbostratus is low. That alone fixes the first two places, 2 then 4, and both (b) and (d) survive it — which is why the item is finally decided by cirrus against cirrocumulus. Be honest about that step: the two share the high level and no hard boundary separates them, so the ordering here follows the textbook convention that cirrus is the topmost cloud rather than a measured difference. The key takes (d), and the supporting number is that cirrus forms as high as 20,000 m in the tropics, higher than any other common cloud.
- High-level clouds in temperate latitudes have bases from roughly 5 to 12 km and are made of ice crystals; the cirro- prefix marks them.
- Cirrus forms between about 6,000 and 20,000 m above sea level worldwide, the greater heights in the tropics and the lesser near the poles.
- Altostratus occupies about 2 to 7 km and is the sheet through which the sun appears as a dim watery disc.
- Nimbostratus is a multi-level cloud that normally forms above 2 km but extends downward as rain or snow thickens it, so its base lies in the low level.
- Nimbus in a cloud name means the cloud is precipitating; cumulus means heaped, stratus means layered, cirrus means a wisp or curl of hair.
- Ordering by how heavy the cloud looks rather than by its prefix — nimbostratus is the darkest and also the lowest of these four.
- Treating cirrocumulus as a middle cloud because it looks like small cumulus; the cirro- prefix outranks the shape.
- Forgetting that nimbostratus spans levels, so a textbook may list it as low or as middle depending on the scheme.
As an ordering item on cloud height, or as an identify-the-cloud item that gives three characteristics and expects the genus.
CDS_GK_2022_II_Q1112022Match List I with List II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists: List I (Cloud Form) A. Cirrus B. Cumulus C. Nimbostratus D. Stratus List II (Characteristic) 1. Storm clouds 2. High fog "Low Ceiling" 3. Fair-weather clouds 4. Entirely of ice particles Code:
- (a) 2, 1, 3, 4
- (b) 2, 3, 1, 4
- (c) 4, 3, 1, 2
- (d) 4, 1, 3, 2
Answer(c) 4, 3, 1, 2
The same four-cloud matching pattern from the previous session, tested on character instead of height. It settles the two facts this item leans on — that cirrus is entirely ice and that nimbostratus is the raining sheet.
Identify the type of cloud on the basis of the given characteristics : 1. High, thin, puffy white clouds of ice crystals that look like ripples 2. They appear between 20000 feet and 40000 feet above the Earth's surface 3. One of its types is called a 'mackerel sky' because the clouds resemble large fish scales, especially when they are coloured pink at sunset Select the correct answer.
- (a) Altostratus
- (b) Cirrostratus
- (c) Altocumulus
- (d) Cirrocumulus
Answer(d) Cirrocumulus
CDS came back to cirrocumulus five months later and put a number on it — 20,000 to 40,000 feet, which is the high level this ordering question depends on.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following clouds is made entirely of ice crystals and has the highest base of the four?
- (a)Stratocumulus
- (b)Altocumulus
- (c)Cirrus
- (d)Nimbostratus
Answer(c) Cirrus — a high-level ice cloud that forms between about 6,000 and 20,000 m, higher than any other common cloud type.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The prefix alto- in cloud names such as altostratus and altocumulus indicates that the cloud
- (a)produces hail
- (b)belongs to the middle level of the troposphere
- (c)is made of ice crystals
- (d)forms only over mountains
Answer(b) belongs to the middle level of the troposphere — roughly 2 to 7 km in temperate latitudes.