Download Weather or Climate?

Grade 10 Science
Unit 3: Climate Change
Weather and Climate
Classifying Canadian Climates
Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions for
a specific place at a specific time.
How does Oakville’s weather affect you life?
Climate refers to the average weather conditions
that occur in a region over a long period of time
(at least 30 years).
How does Oakville’s climate affect you life?
Weather and Climate
August is the wettest month of the year
in Toronto. C
2. Monday’s low temperature was 4oC in
Oakville. W
3. Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans on
August 29, 2005. W
4. Victoria, B.C. has the warmest winters in
Canada. C
1.
Weather or Climate?

Watch a current weather forecast here
What makes up the weather?

Temperature: A measure of how fast the
particles in matter are moving.
Units: Celsius (oC)

Precipitation: Condensed water that falls to
the ground. (e.g., snow, rain, sleet, drizzle,
etc.) Units: millimetres (mm)

Clouds: Condensed water/ice too small to
fall to the ground.
Key Weather and Climate Terms

Humidity: The relative amount of water
vapour in the air. Units: %

Wind: Movement of air over the Earth’s
surface. Units: km/h

Jet Stream: Narrow, fast air currents
found high in the atmosphere.

Front: A boundary between air masses
with different characteristics (cold fronts,
warm fronts, occluded and stationary
fronts).

Atmospheric Pressure: A measure of the
force per unit of area produced by the
particles of gas in the atmosphere.
Units: kilopascal (kPa)
Low Pressure: cloudy, rainy weather.
High Pressure: clear, sunny weather.

Meteorology is the science of studying and
predicting the weather.
Biomes are large geographical area with
similar climate (temperatures and
precipitation ranges).
Biomes contain specific types of plants and
animals that adapted to these conditions.
Biomes
Biomes of the World

Canada
contains all of
the major
biomes on
Earth except
tropical
rainforests.
Biomes of North America

Combine a line
and bar graphs.

Line (red)
represents
average monthly
temperature.

Bars (usually
blue) represent
average monthly
precipitation.
Climatographs
Task:
1.
Examine the climatographs of Canada’s biomes.
2.
Write the name of the biome and climatograph
location on your chart.
3.
From the graph, determine the range of
average monthly temperatures and
precipitation amounts. Record these values.
4.
Describe the characteristic plants of the biome.
Investigating Canada’s Climate
Analysis Questions:
1.
What biome do we live in?
2.
Would you rather live in a different Canadian
biome? Why or why not?
3.
What is the wettest biome? Hint: the graph
axes can be misleading!
4.
What is the warmest biome?
5.
What biome has the most extreme seasonal
variations?
6.
Do you think climate change would affect the
map of Canada’s biomes?