Question

Which of the following clouds looks like a wisp of cotton floating in the sky?
A. Cumulus clouds
B. Cirrus clouds
C. Stratus clouds
D. Nimbus clouds

Answer 1

Hint: Clouds can be ordered according to their stature and appearance or texture from the surface of the Earth. Thus broadly clouds are classified into three types- High-level clouds, Mid-level clouds, and low-level clouds.

Complete answer:Clouds are an important part of Earth's weather. A cloud is made up of water drops or ice crystals floating in the sky. High-level clouds occur above 20,000 feet and there are three main types of high-level clouds which are- cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus. The cirrus clouds are feathery and composed entirely of crystals and these look like wisps of cotton floating in the sky. These often emerge when a warm front is approaching or an upper-level jet streak is approaching. Mid-level clouds occur between 6,500 and 20,000 feet and there are two main types of such clouds which are- altostratus and altocumulus. Low-level clouds occur below 6,500 feet and there are two main types of these clouds which are- stratus, which develops horizontally, and cumulus, which develops vertically. Stratus clouds produce a grey layer of cloud cover and are uniform and flat. Cumulus clouds are cauliflower-shaped, they have great vertical height and flat base; they are usually white and grey in color and they also cause rainfall with lightning and thunder. Nimbus clouds are the real rain clouds; they are thick, dark, and black, and they spread out in layers and cause continuous rain or snow.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note:Many other interesting clouds are the wall cloud, shelf cloud, fractus, Mammatus, contrail, fog, and hole-punch clouds.