Things I am going to learn
By the end of this unit you should be able to:
 Define Natural Features and give examples

Identify the natural features of a landscape
 Explain how seasons occur on planet earth.

Explain how the earth distributes its temperature.
 Explain the cause of winds, clouds and precipitation
 Describe the spatial distribution of New Zealand’s population.

Identify areas of high and low population density on a New Zealand map

Describe the Natural features that influence population location.
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Describe the Cultural features that influence population location.
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Identify the various ethnic groups that make up the population.

Construct an Age-Sex Pyramid to show current New Zealand population.
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Determine the age-sex breakdown of New Zealand population.
 Draw and explain the migration model
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State the difference between external and internal migration

Describe external migration and give examples
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Describe internal migration and give examples.
 Describe the issues of internal migration
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Describe the issues of external migration
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Identify what an ageing population is using age-sex pyramids

Describe the reasons for an ageing population

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of an ageing population

Discuss solutions to the problems associated with an ageing population.
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Natural Features
INTRODUCTION
The world comprises of many natural features. Natural features dominate our landscapes. They are
features within the landscape that occur naturally – i.e without the intervention of humans. Many natural
features on Earth serve as landmarks. These are useful to use as reference points when giving directions.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you should be able to:
 Define Natural Features and give examples

Identify the natural features of a landscape
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Natural features are: _____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Natural features that make up
the landscape can include:
Your teacher will supply you with a world map. You are to locate on the map the major natural
features on planet earth. You will need to consider what features to include before you start.
The Weather
INTRODUCTION
‘Weather’ is something we are all familiar with – it is often a topic we talk about as an ice breaker to start
conversations. Weather around the world varies greatly and in some places ‘weather’ can mean life or
death. Tornadoes, hurricanes, drought, monsoons, etc, all bring severe weather to populated areas.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you should be able to:
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 Explain how seasons occur on planet earth.

Explain how the earth distributes its temperature.
 Explain the cause of winds, clouds and precipitation
To understand the weather in any one area we first need to take a understand weather on a global
scale.
The Earths Orbit
When we look at planet Earth we most often have the North Pole directly above the South Pole.
Between these two points we have the _ _ _ _ about which the planet _ _ _ _ _ _ _. One
complete rotation of planet earth is called a _ _ _. One _ _ _ _ _ of the earth around the _ _ _ is
known as a _ _ _ _.
But the earth is actually on a tilt of ____ from the
vertical. This can be seen in Diagram 1.
It is this tilt that gives earth its _ _ _ _ _ _ _. During
the winter in the Southern Hemisphere the axis is
tilted _ _ _ _ from the sun. This results in the sun;
being _ _ _ _ _ in the sky, spending _ _ _ _ time
above the horizon, and also having to pass through
_ _ _ _
atmosphere before reaching the earths
surface. All this results in _ _ _ _ solar radiation,
Diagram 1:
therefore less _ _ _ _ _ _ _, which in turn results in
cooler _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.
The reverse occurs during the summer. The Southern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun. This
results in the sun; being higher in the sky, spending more time above the horizon, and having to
pass through less atmosphere before reaching earths surface. This results in more sloar radiation,
therefore more heating, which in turn results in warmer temperatures.
Diagram 2:
Next step – pg 87 chittenden
Forecasting the Weather
INTRODUCTION
‘Weather’ varies from place to place and from day to day. Many events rely on certain types of weather, for
example the college swimming sports relies on the weather being nice and sunny. We can predict what the
weather is going to be like in the ‘next few days’ by understanding weather maps.
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this section you should be able to:
 
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 Explain how seasons occur on planet earth.

Explain how the earth distributes its temperature.
 Explain the cause of winds, clouds and precipitation
Most people probably see weather maps more than any other type of map. You see them in
newspapers, on the news on TV, and also on many different websites. A person who studies the
weather is known as a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. For them to correctly predict the weather they
need to have a good understanding of the information covered in this section.
Atmospheric Pressure
The world is surrounded by layers of gases called the atmosphere. On the earths surface this
forms the air that we breathe. Although it feels weightless to us, the atmosphere does have weight
and it puts _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ on the earths _ _ _ _ _ _ _. A _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is used to measure
atmospheric pressure and the measurements are expressed in terms of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (
).
Atmospheric pressure varies from place to place and from time to time. Pressure increases when
air is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , and increases when air is _ _ _ _ _ _ . It is the changes in atmospheric
pressure that cause changes in the weather.
Barometers show changes in atmospheric pressure and are a very useful tool in forecasting the
weather. Pressure on a weather map is represented in lines called _ _ _ _ _ _ _. These are lines
which join places of equal pressure. The pressures are plotted on a map and then the places of
equal pressure are joined together by lines.
In general, high pressure brings fine conditions and low pressure brings bad weather. The higher
the pressure the better the weather will be and the lower the pressure the worse the weather will
be.
Complete the map below by connecting the areas of equal pressure.
Insert activity pg 80 Chittenden
Anticyclones & Depressions
Areas of high and low pressure can form anticyclones and depressions.
Definition
Areas
of
high
pressure,
Weather characteristics
usually Light winds, clear skies, dry weather,
enclosed by isobars of 1020mb and hot days and cool nights in the
Anticyclones:
over, are known as anticyclones. They summer, mild days in the winter.
are shown on a weather map by a
large ‘H’.
Areas
of
low
pressure,
usually Strong winds, cloudy skies, rain, mild
enclosed by isobars of 100mb and temperatures.
Depressions:
under, are known as depressions.
They are shown on the weather map
by a large ‘L’.
Insert diagram pg 84 Chittenden
Winds
Because the air above an anticyclone is descending it is forced to move outward when it reaches
the earths surface and can descend no further. The air above a depression is rising, so air is
drawn inwards to replace it. Therefore, air moves away from areas of high pressure (anticyclones)
to areas of low pressure (depressions). This movement of air is called wind and can be seen in the
diagram below:
Because the earth is spinning, winds do not blow in a straight line between an anticyclone and a
depression. In the southern hemisphere they are deflected to the left. In the northern hemisphere
they are deflected to the right.
This means that when winds blow out of an anticyclone in the southern hemisphere they unwind in
an anticlockwise direction. Blowing into a depression they wind up themselves up in a clockwise
direction.
As a result, winds tend to blow almost parallel to isobars.
Wind direction
Winds are named after the direction in which they are blowing – i.e from the direction they come
from.
Wind speed
Winds are a result of changes in pressure. Winds blow from areas of high pressure to areas of low
pressure. The greater the change in pressure the stronger the wind will be. This can be seen on a
weather map when isobars are close together.
Air masses, Cold & Warm fronts
New Zealand is located roughly half way between the equator and the antarctic. Because of this
halfway position our weather is influenced by the winds and air masses from both of these regions.
A northerly air mass brings hot or warm air to the country, while a southerly air mass brings cool or
cold conditions.
When a warm air mass and a cold air mass meet a _ _ _ _ _ is formed. There are two types of
front:
Cold Front: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Warm Front: ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
COLD FRONTS
A cold front rises steeply from the earths surface so
that when cold air pushes into a warm air mass, the
lighter warm air is forced to rise rapidly over the cold
air. As it rises it cools and condenses, forming clouds
and eventually heavy rain. Thunder and lightning are
common – due to the rapid rising.
Symbol:
WARM FRONTS
A warm front is not as steep as a cold front. As thew
warm air pushes into the cold air mass, the lighter
warmer air is forced to rise above the cooler air. As it
rises, the warm air cools and condenses to form
clouds and rain. The air does not rise as rapidly in a
warm front so the rain is not as heavy as the cold front
rain.
Symbol:
STATIONARY FRONTS
If a front has little or no movement it is known as a ‘stationary’ front.
Symbol:
OCCLUDED FRONTS
Sometimes as warm and cold fronts revolve around a depression, the cold front will catch up with
the warm front. This forms an ‘occluded’ front.
Symbol:
Forecasting the Weather
To forecast the weather is to be able to reasonably predict future weather. Study of past weather
patterns for New Zealand show that the weather tends to repeat itself in a fairly regular cycle. To
understand this cycle it is fairly necessary to take a close