Science 10 Assignment U4L7 ( 21 marks)
The information for the following questions can be found in the lesson content, the
internet and the Addison Wesley Science 10 text book pages 391 - 405
1. In point form, list the factors that play a role in determining the climate of an
area. (3 marks)
-
Precipitation
Temperature
Solar energy
Insolation, which is mostly related to the latitude of a region; other factors
can cause daily changes in insolation, including cloud cover, albedo, and the
level of atmospheric dust.
The pattern of global winds that prevail over a region
The pattern of the warm and cold currents in Earth’s oceans, and the effect of
differences in specific heat capacity of water and of air on cooling and heating
of a region.
2. What is a climatograph ? (1 mark)
A summary of the average temperature and precipitation for each month of
the year for a given location, presented as a graph.
3. What two main factors are used when describing a region in a climatograph ?
(2 marks)
Average temperature
Average precipitation
4. Explain why a coastal region would have a significantly different climate than
would an inland region at the same latitude. (2 marks)
The warm ocean water warms the air temperature throughout the year
and increases the precipitation on a coastal region. While on an inland
region, its climate is affected mostly by the amount of insolation at that
latitude.
5. Construct a climatograph for Medicine Hat, Alberta using the information in
the table below. Medicine Hat is at latitude 50.05˚N. (5 marks)
Month
Jan
Feb
Average Precipitation (mm)
16.8
14.6
Average Temperature (˚C)
-11.0
-8.8
Mar
Apr
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
17.4
21.9
41.2
59.7
40.7
35.3
32.1
16.5
16.0
15.6
-2.1
6.7
12.6
16.9
20.4
19.1
13.3
7.4
-1.4
-7.3
6. Two regions on Earth have the same latitude, but different climates. Suggest
two factors that might cause this difference in climate. ( 2 marks)
If one of the regions is on the coast while the other region is inland, the region
of the coast would be warmer and wetter because of the influence of the
ocean. The topographical characteristics could also affect albedo which would
affect the local temperature of the area.
7. Why do some regions on Earth have different amounts of insolation ? (1
mark)
8. The angle of insolation is different at different locations on Earth because the
Earth is split into 3 main regions: Polar, Temperate, and Equator. Since Earth
is a sphere, the middle is more direct to the sun, unlike the other regions. So,
the sun would "give" the heat to the equator more easily and the heat
spreading on the other regions would spread and it takes some time to heat
them up.
8. In Canada there is a lot of dissention regarding the data supporting climate
change. Find an article that does not support the supposition that climate change is
the fault of greenhouse gases and summarize the evidence supported by the author .
Please submit both the article and the summary. (5 marks)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/oct/06/sun-role-warming-planet
This Article is explaining that the brightness of the sun has a large affect on the
warming of the Earth. They do not support the supposition that climate change is
the fault of greenhouse gases. The warming influence of rising greenhouse gases in
the atmosphere, emitted by human activities, was at least 10 times greater than
changes in the strength of the sun.