Weather & Climate Study Guide
Name ___________________________
6th Grade PSI
1. What is the difference between weather and climate?
2. What is the primary source of energy for weather?
3. How do gases in the atmosphere help to keep Earth warm?
4. What causes global warming?
5. What is warmer: direct or indirect sunlight?
6. How does Earth’s tilt affect the type of sunlight an area receives?
7. Describe a tropical latitude.
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6th Grade PSI
Weather & Climate and Natural Disasters
8. Describe a polar latitude.
9. Describe a temperate latitude.
10. How does density affect the movement of air masses?
11. What is wind?
12. What are prevailing winds?
13. How much water can warm and cold air hold?
14. What is heat capacity?
15. What does it mean to say that something has a low heat capacity?
16. In the winter, why is it warmer by the coast than it is inland?
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6th Grade PSI
Weather & Climate and Natural Disasters
17. How does the ocean regulate climate on Earth?
18. How does the ocean affect weather?
19. How would weather be different in the following locations:
a. The top of a mountain and the base of the mountain
b. The windward side of a mountain range (where wind originates) and the
leeward side of a mountain range
c. The coast and inland areas
20. How does the presence of a glacier affect temperature? Why?
21. Describe the breeze that occurs between a hilltop and a valley during the day.
22. Describe the breeze that occurs between the ocean and the beach at night.
23. Describe two ways that humans affect climate?
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6th Grade PSI
Weather & Climate and Natural Disasters
24. Why do meteorologists use probability forecasting?
25. Describe a high pressure system.
26. Describe a low pressure system.
27. What is a front?
28. What is a cold front? What weather occurs during a cold front?
29. What is a warm front? What weather occurs during a warm front?
30. What is a natural disaster?
31. Where do hurricanes usually form?
32. Why is Tornado Alley a common area for tornadoes?
www.njctl.org
6th Grade PSI
Weather & Climate and Natural Disasters