The Science of Snow for Children and Teachers Page 4
Snow Science Groups of Ice Crystal Classifications
There are 7 major groupings of snowflakes which branch off into 41 morphological types.
Morphology deals with the structure and form of animals and plants and means the study of structure or form.
A snowflake may change or morph into a variety of shapes depending upon the conditions outlined above.
These are the basic groups of snow crystal classifications
Groups of Snow Crystal Classifications
Columns
Needles
Plates
Stellar crystals
Irregular Crystals
Graupel
Hail
Ice Pellets
Rime
- Pre-plan your catch and put a dry cloth or piece of paper in a safe place in the freezer and wait for a snowy day.
- Your cloth or paper surface must be cold, cold, cold or your snowflake will melt too quickly.
- When it snows, grab a magnifying glass and take your frozen cloth or paper outside and allow a few snowflakes to land.
- Quickly, before they can melt, study the snowflakes with your Magnifying glass.
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