WELCOME TO SCIENCE!!! UNIT 5 LESSON 12: Factors Affecting Climate

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What you can expect from class

to explore the different factors that affect climate!

Essential question: What affects climate?

Exit ticket review from lesson 11

Exit ticket review from lesson 11

• As you learn more and more about earth, you may

start to feel appreciation for its extraordinary

landscapes and surprising variety. Though you may

live in a climate that is hot and dry, just one plane

ride can take you where you can find yourself

surrounded by snow-covered mountains or cooled

by coastal breezes.

• Earth is an awesome place.

Factors that Influence Climate

In the last lesson, you learned that climates on earth

are classified based on temperature and

precipitation. Four main factors influence the

temperature and precipitation in an area. They are:

• Geographic location

• Closeness to bodies of water

• Ocean currents

• Altitude, or height above sea level

• Location, Location, Location

Climate and latitude are closely related.

Remember that because of earth’s shape,

radiation from the sun heats its surface unevenly.

Locations closest to earth’s “bulge” at the equator

generally have a warmer climate than places at

higher latitudes.

Quick Check • Locations closest to earth’s “bulge” at the equator

generally have a warmer climate than places at

higher latitudes.

By the Sea

Why are coastal areas generally windy? Land warms

up faster than water and radiates and conducts some

of its energy faster than the water does. During the

day, the air above the land heats more quickly and

becomes warmer than the air above the sea. As you

know, differences in air temperature over sea and

land will get a wind going.

• How does this affect climate? Ocean winds can

carry a great deal of moisture with them and can

bring rain and fog over inland areas. The climate of

the Pacific Northwest in the United States is greatly

affected by ocean winds that bring moisture to the

region's huge forests of Sitka spruce, Douglas fir, and

redwood.

• Ocean Currents Ocean currents affect the temperatures of some regions. Some ocean currents carry warm water into the north. The British Isles in western Europe, for example, have a warmer climate than other areas at the same latitude, such as Labrador, Canada. A current called the Gulf Stream brings warm water to the British Isles. The Gulf Stream helps keep the climate warmer than it would be otherwise. Other currents carry cold water away from polar regions and make the climate of the areas they travel to colder than it would be. Currents can warm or cool the air over them. The wind can carry that air into neighboring land areas.

Quick Check: • Currents do not have the power to affect the

climate of a particular area.

Smile break

• Altitude In the Cascade Range in Washington, you can see how altitude affects climate. The mountains have snow on their peaks year-round. However, in nearby Seattle, it barely ever snows.

• Seattle is at a lower altitude than the mountains. At higher altitudes, the air is less dense. When air loses density, it also loses heat. So, the higher the altitude, the cooler the air temperature. Regions that are very mountainous are much colder than other lands at the same latitude.

•

• Barriers to Wind The shape of the land can influence climate. Mountain ranges may block even the strongest winds. This can increase or decrease the amount of precipitation that falls on the areas next to the mountains.

• When moisture-filled winds (orange arrows) hit the windward side, or wind-facing side, of mountains, rain or snow falls. This is because as the air is forced to rise, it cools and releases moisture. By the time the winds reach the opposite side of the mountains, most or all of their moisture has been lost.

• As a result, the downwind, or leeward, side of mountains is usually dry and cool.

•

Quick Check • The higher the altitude the __________ the air

temperature.

• Name the 3 main biomes of the United States (land

only).

• What two biomes are closest to where you live?

• What U.S. state could a person visit a tropical rain

forest in?

• How about a temperate rain forest?

• Point out Alaska by drawing an arrow to it. What

biome is found in Alaska?

• A person is driving from Los Angeles, California to

Washington D.C. Name the biomes the person will

pass through, in the correct order.