Download Module 5 (9/20) - Liberty Union High School District

Pages: 87 – 99
MODULE 5 GUIDE
Due:
"The Unequal Heating of Earth, Air & Ocean Currents"
Key Term ID's (flashcards):
Climate
Weather
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Angle of sun rays to Earth
Albedo
Earth's tilt
Atmospheric convection
Adiabatic cooling/heating
Latent Heat Release
Hadley cell
Polar cell
*Ferrel cell
ITCZ
Coriolis Effect
Gyre
Upwelling
Thermohaline circulation
Rain shadow
1. Opening Story - How does the story of weather patterns in Kenya demonstrate the influence of climate on human
well-being?
2. What two abiotic factors primarily determine which species of plants and animals can live in an area?
3. Sketch a labelled diagram of the layers of earth’s atmosphere. Identify the notable functions/important things that
happen in the troposphere, stratosphere, and thermosphere. Why does air pressure decrease as you move higher in
the atmosphere?
4. Why does the angle at which sunlight strikes a location on Earth influence its temperature? Apply this to polar
regions.
5. How does the albedo of Earth's surface affect its temperature?
6. How are melting ice from climate change and increasing paved surfaces from urbanization influencing Earth's
albedo?
7. Where does the original energy that drives circulation of the atmosphere come from
8. Explain why warm air rises and cool air sinks.
9. Why is warm, rising air associated with precipitation?
10. What types of conditions are found where air in a circulation cell (such as a Hadley cell) returns to Earth from up
high?
11. What is the ITCZ, and why does it move over the year?
12. What is the combined effect of convection currents in determining patterns of temperature and precipitation on
Earth?
13. The Coriolis Effect deflects moving objects (such as molecules in a mass of air) in a _____________ direction in the
northern hemisphere and a ____________________ direction in the southern hemisphere.
14. Why does the northern hemisphere experience winter during the southern hemisphere's summer, and vice versa?
15. What role do winds play in shaping oceanic currents?
16. Explain how oceanic currents distribute heat around the world.
17. Why do ocean currents tend to move clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern?
18. Upwelling is a process in which __________________________________________________________. It is caused
by ______________________________ and is important to humans because ___________________________
19. How does thermohaline circulation differ from oceanic surface currents and gyres?
20. How do oceanic currents affect the temperature & precipitation patterns of nearby landmasses?
21. Where does the water in the Gulf Stream originate, where does it flow to, and what is its' overall effect?
22. Why do conditions vary so drastically on the windward and leeward sides of a mountain creating a rain shadow?
Module Summary (your own words - What's important? Connections? Meaning?)