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Year 7 · Geography · Weather and climate · Lesson 2

Types of rainfall

How rain forms, and the three types of rainfall - relief (with the rain shadow), frontal and convectional - with UK examples.

Whiteboard video lesson: Types of rainfall

17-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Explain how rain forms
  • Describe the three types of rainfall
  • Explain why western Britain is wetter
  • Draw a relief rainfall diagram

The method

  1. What lifts air.
  2. Rise + cool.
  3. Condense.
  4. Rain + example.

Key words: condensation, relief rainfall, frontal rainfall, convectional rainfall, rain shadow, front.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

What happens to air as it rises?

  1. Step 1: Temperature

Answer: it cools

Question 2

What is condensation?

  1. Step 1: Gas to liquid

Answer: water vapour turning into liquid droplets

Question 3

Name the three types of rainfall.

  1. Step 1: R, F, C

Answer: relief, frontal, convectional