Transcript Unit 4 Weather and Climate

Unit 4
Weather and
Climate
Big Idea: Air pressure, temperature, air
movement, and humidity in the
atmosphere affect both weather and
climate.
Unit 4 Lesson 1 Elements of Weather
What is weather?
• Weather - condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a
certain time & place.
Temperature - measure of how hot or cold something is.
-thermometer
Humidity -amt of H2O vapor in the air.
-psychrometer
Precipitation -any form of H2O that falls from clouds.
-rain gauge, meterstick
Air pressure –the force of air molecules pushing on an area.
-barometer
Wind -air that moves horizontally, or parallel to ground
-anemometer or wind vane/wind sock
Visibility –measure of the distance an object or light can be
clearly seen. Uses 3 or 4 landmarks
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 2 Clouds & Cloud Formation
Watching Clouds
• Cirrus clouds -made of ice and appear feathery or
wispy.
• Cumulus clouds -appear as heaps or piles. They form in
fair weather but can produce thunderstorms.
• Stratus clouds -form flat layers that can block out the
sun and produce steady rain.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_types.jpg
Unit 4 Lesson 3 What Influences Weather?
Putting Up a Front
How do air masses affect weather?
• Air mass-large volume of air in which
temperature & moisture content are nearly
the same throughout.
• Front- forms between air masses with
differing densities.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 3 What Influences Weather?
Feeling the Pressure!
• Areas of different air pressure cause changes in
the weather.
High-pressure system - air slowly sinks down and
spreads outward.
Low-pressure
system - air rises
and cools
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 5 Weather Maps and Weather Prediction
• Weather forecasting -analysis of scientific data to
predict future weather conditions.
Cloudy with a Chance of …
• Meteorology - study of weather and Earth’s
atmosphere
Doppler radar is important for detecting and tracking
severe storms and tornados.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 5 Weather Maps and Weather Prediction
• What can you conclude from this weather map about
the weather happening in different parts of the United
States?
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 6 Climate
• Climate -describes the weather conditions in an area over
a long period of time.
How’s the Climate?
1. Climate is usually determined by temperature and
precipitation.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 6 Climate
How do Earth’s features affect climate?
• Topography -Surface features on Earth combine to form
an area.
• Elevation -height of an area above sea level.
• Rain shadow -happens when warm, moist air rises over
a mountain and drops its precipitation on one side,
leaving the other side dry.
http://gabbiclassblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/rain-shadow-effect.html
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 7 Climate Change
What are some causes of repeating patterns
of climate change?
• Geologic evidence indicates that ice ages
occur every 200 million years or so, and
each ice age lasts for millions of years.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Unit 4 Lesson 7 Climate Change
• Studies show that the average global surface
temperature has risen by about 0.3 °C to 0.8 °C over
the last 100 years.
• Global warming -gradual increase in average global
temperature. It will affect global sea level, global
weather patterns, and life on Earth.
• Scientists predict
that storms will
increase in power
and frequency, and
as much as half of
Earth’s surface may
be affected by
drought.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
http://www.ecologistnews.com/eco-systems/the-biggest-asias-rivers-are-in-danger-by-global-warming.html
Unit 3 Lesson 3 Nonrenewable Energy Resources
• Energy resource -natural resource that humans use to
generate
energy, and it can be renewable or
Be Resourceful!
nonrenewable.
• Nonrenewable resources -used up faster than they
can be replaced.
• Nuclear energy
• Crude oil/petroleum
• Natural gas
• Coal
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
 Renewable resources replaced by natural
processes at least as quickly as they are
used.
 Wind energy
 Hydroelectric energy.
 Solar energy
 Biomass
 Geothermal energy
Unit 4 Lesson 7 Climate Change
How can people reduce their impact on climate
change?
• Clean-energy technologies are being
researched and used in different parts of the
world.
• New biofuels, solar power, wind power, and
water power reduce the need to burn fossil
fuels.
• However, many new technologies are currently
more expensive than fossil fuels.
Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company