Transcript Notes - Ms. Kimberlin` s class

Chapter Three Notes
Climate
Environment
Resources
What is the difference between
weather and climate?
• Weather – the short-term changes in the
air for a given place and time.
• Climate – The region’s average weather
conditions over a long period.
Sun and Location
• Different locations receive different
amounts of sunlight.
– The more sunlight a place receives, the
warmer it will be.
Earth’s shape
• The Earth is wider in the middle because it
is a sphere (a circular shape)
– For this reason, the lower latitudes (areas
close to the equator) get more sun.
• The lower latitudes are warm year round.
– The areas near the poles (higher latitudes)
get less sun.
• They are cool year round
Wind and water
• Wind and water are constantly on the
move and can change temperatures as
they move.
– Prevailing winds are winds that blow in the
same direction over large areas of Earth.
– Current Wind Map
• http://hint.fm/wind/
Air and weight and wind
• Even though you can’t feel it, air has
weight.
– Cool air is heavy. Warm air is lighter.
– When air gets warmer, it gets lighter and
rises. Cooler air moves in to take its place.
This creates wind.
Wind Video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBqoh
Ru2RRk
Ocean Currents
• Large streams of surface seawater
Large bodies of water
• Water heats and cools more slowly than
land does.
• This creates areas with a milder climate.
– Milder climates do not get very hot or very
cold.
Wind, Water Storms
• An air mass is a large body of air.
• Most storms occur when two air masses of
different temperature or moisture content
collide.
– This is called a front.
Fronts
• Can produce
– Rain.
– Snow.
– Thunderstorms.
– Blizzards.
– Tornados – small, rapidly twisting funnel of air
that touches the ground