Download Study Guide 1.) Why is the equator warmer than the North Pole? In

Study Guide
1.) Why is the equator warmer than the North Pole?
In the picture below, warm air is moving over a lake and up over the side of a mountain.
2.) Where are clouds more likely to form in the picture above?
3.) Seasonal differences in climate are caused because
4.) Will heat energy be transferred (passed) from a warm ocean current to the air? If so, will the
temperature of the air increase? (What will happen to air that is over warm ocean currents?)
5.) The climate on the leeward side of a mountain differs from that on the windward side mostly in the
6.) Cities 1 and 2 have the same latitude and elevation. The only difference between them is that one is
located near a large body of water?
Which location is nearest the water? Select Location 1 or 2 and EXPLAIN WHY
January
August
Temperature
Temperature Temperature
Range (°F)
(°F)
(°F)
Location 1
30°
80°
50°
Location 2
52°
62°
10°
Use the diagram to answer the questions below.
Identify the following Climate Zones
_____7.) Polar Zone(s)
_____8.) Temperate Zone(s)
_____9.) Tropical Zone(s)
_____10.) Sunlight hits the Earth MOST directly here.
11.) Why is one side of a mountain a wet/rainy climate and the other side a dry/desert climate?
12.) If the southern hemisphere is pointed towards the sun, what season is it? What season is it in the
NORTHERN hemisphere? Why are there two different seasons?
Possible Questions
Oceans make the temperatures of near the water more extreme. _________________________
A. The statement is TRUE
B. The statement is FALSE
Streams of water called ocean ____________________ move warm or cold water, warming or cooling
the nearby land.
Because Earth’s axis is ____________________, the hemispheres receive different amounts of solar
energy at different times.
Because of its high ____________________, Mount Kilimanjaro has a cool climate all year.
A student lives in a town where the summers are very warm and the winters are very cold.
Why is it colder in the winter than in the summer?
a. The sun is lower in the sky in the winter, so the town receives less energy from the sun.
b. The sun gives off less energy in the winter, so the town receives less energy from the sun.
c. The sunlight has to travel a much longer distance to the town in the winter, so town
receives less energy from the sun.
d. The town receives the same amount of energy from the sun during the entire year, but the
wind blows cold air to the town during the winter.
What causes the number of hours of daylight a place receives to change over the course of a year?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Changes in the moon’s path around the earth cause the moon to block sunlight.
Changes in how fast the earth turns on its axis.
Changes in the earth’s distance from the sun.
Changes in the angle between earth’s axis and the sun.
5.) What causes air currents to form?
a. Air currents form when cold air rises and warm air sinks.
b. Air currents form when warm air rises and cold air sinks.
c. The rising and sinking of air does not create air currents. Air currents form when cold air
moves along the surface of the earth toward warmer air.
d. The rising and sinking of air cannot cause air currents to form. Air currents form only
because of the rotation of the earth.
Climate Pre-Assessment
Please write only on your mastery manager document.
1.) A student lives in a town where the summers are very warm and the winters are very cold.
Why is it colder in the winter than in the summer?
a. Because sunlight is cooled by the cold air in the winter.
b. Because sunlight has to pass through more clouds to get to the town in the winter.
c. Because sunlight reaches the town at a smaller angle in the winter
d. Because sunlight has to travel a much longer distance to get to the town in the winter.
2.) As a family climbs a mountain, they notice that it is windier, cloudier, and feels colder the higher
they go. What could explain why the air feels colder higher on the mountain?
a. The air temperature high up on the mountain is the same as it is lower down. The air only
feels colder because it is windier.
b. The air temperature is the same high on the mountain as it is lower down. The air feels
colder because they are closer to the clouds.
c. Air temperature goes up the higher they climb because they are getting closer to the sun. The
air could feel colder because it is windier.
d. The air could feels colder, because air temperature decreases the farther away you are from
Earth’s surface.
3.) Which of the following affects the amount of water vapor in the air?
a. Neither the amount of liquid water below the air nor the temperature of the air affects the
amount of water vapor in the air.
b. Both the amount of liquid water below the air and the temperature of the air affect the
amount of water vapor in the air.
c. The amount of liquid water below the air affects the amount of water vapor in the air,
but the temperature of the air does not.
d. The temperature of the air affects the amount of water vapor in the air, but the amount
of liquid water below the air does not.
4.) What must be TRUE about the number of hours of daylight at Place 1 compared to Place 2?
a.
b.
c.
d.
There are more hours of daylight at Place 1 than at Place 2 every day of the year.
There are fewer hours of daylight at Place 1 than at Place 2 every day of the year.
Both Place 1 and Place 2 have the same number of hours of daylight every day of the year.
Whether or not there are more daylight hours at Place 1 or Place 2 depends on the time of
year.
5.) Which of the following statements is TRUE about the movement of air and its heat energy from one
place to another?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Air moves from one place to another, and its heat energy moves with it.
Air moves from one place to another, but its heat energy does not move with it.
The heat energy of the air moves from one place to another, but the air does not move.
Both the air and its thermal energy move from one place to another, but they move
separately.
6.) What causes ocean currents?
a. Ocean currents form when cold water rises and warm water sinks.
b. Ocean currents form in water when warm water rises and cold water sinks.
c. Ocean currents form when cold water moves along the surface of the earth toward
warmer water.
d. Ocean currents form only when wind pushes the water.
7.) A student lives by the ocean where water from the North Pole passes by and wind blows from the
ocean over the land. What would the air temperature be like if the ocean water came from a warmer
place than the North Pole?
a. The air temperature would stay the same.
b. The air temperature would become warmer.
c. The air temperature would become colder.
8.) Why is it hotter at the equator than it is at the poles?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Because the equator is closer to the sun.
Because the sun's rays travel through more atmosphere at the equator.
Because the sun's energy is more spread out at the equator.
Because the sun is always directly overhead at the equator.
9.) Student 1 and Student 2 live in different places that are the same distance from the equator. Each
student calculated the air temperature range where she lives by finding the difference between the
average temperature in January and in August.
January
August
Temperature
Temperature Temperature
Range (°F)
(°F)
(°F)
Student 1
30°
80°
50°
Student 2
52°
62°
10°
10.) Could the difference in the temperature ranges at the two places be explained by one student living
closer to an ocean than the other student?
A. Yes, the temperature range is usually smaller the closer a place is to an ocean.
B. Yes, the temperature range is usually larger the closer a place is to an ocean.
C. No, being closer to an ocean does not affect the temperature range.