Weather vs Climate
What is the main difference between weather and climate?
Main difference: Weather describes short-term atmospheric conditions; climate describes long-term weather patterns in an area.
Name two types of extreme weather listed in the study guide.
Two types: Hurricanes and droughts. (Other correct pairs: floods and heat waves; winter storms and wildfires.)
Define "global warming" as given in the study guide.
Definition: Global warming is the long-term increase in Earth's average temperature.
What is mitigation? Give one classroom-friendly example.
Mitigation: Actions that reduce the causes of climate change. Example: switching a school to renewable electricity.
Name two climate risks Louisiana faces, according to the study guide.
Two climate risks: Sea-level rise and stronger hurricanes. (Other acceptable answers: coastal land loss, flooding, heavy rainfall, extreme heat.)
Give one example of "weather" and one example of "climate" from real life.
Example: Weather = a rainy afternoon; Climate = a region that has cold winters and hot summers.
What does NOAA track about billion-dollar weather disasters, and since what year?
NOAA tracks the number of billion-dollar weather disasters, and it has tracked them since 1980.
Attribution: Determining whether climate change influenced a particular extreme weather event. Two data sources: historical weather records and climate models (also acceptable: long-term climate data).
What is "attribution" in climate science? Name two data sources scientists use for attribution.
What is adaptation? Give one example used in communities.
Adaptation: Actions that prepare for climate impacts. Example: creating cooling centers for heat waves.
Why does Louisiana prioritize restoring coasts and wetlands in its resilience work? Give one clear reason from the guide.
Reason for prioritizing coasts/wetlands: Restoring coasts and wetlands reduces flood risk and helps protect communities from sea-level rise, land loss, hurricanes, and storm surge.
A single hot day does not prove long-term warming. Which of the CER elements asks you to explain how your evidence supports the claim?
CER element: Reasoning.
Define "frequency" and "intensity" in the context of extreme weather.
Definitions: Frequency = how often something happens; Intensity = how strong something is.
Why is it incorrect to use a single storm to prove climate change? Use one reason from the guide.
Why incorrect: Scientists use long-term patterns and data — a single storm or hot day does not represent long-term trends needed to identify climate change.
Using the memory trick, write a two-sentence explanation differentiating mitigation and adaptation and include one specific action for each.
Two-sentence differentiation: Mitigation reduces the cause of climate change (for example, improving energy efficiency to cut emissions). Adaptation adjusts to effects already happening (for example, building flood barriers to reduce flood damage)
Explain how population and geography can cause climate impacts to differ across states. Provide one Louisiana-specific example.
How population/geography cause differences: Geography (coastal lowlands) increases exposure to sea-level rise in Louisiana; population patterns (concentrated coastal communities) raise exposure and vulnerability — e.g., coastal parishes face higher flood and land-loss risks than inland areas.
Explain why two "100-year events" could occur within a short time span rather than 100 years apart
Explanation: A "100-year event" means about a 1% chance each year; because each year is an independent chance, two such events can occur close together.
Explain (in one sentence) how climate change can affect the frequency, intensity, or duration of heat waves.
One-sentence explanation: As Earth's average temperature rises, heat waves can occur more often (increased frequency), reach higher temperatures (greater intensity), and last more days (longer duration).
Describe the three important words (frequency, intensity, duration) and give a short example of each for hurricanes.
Frequency/Intensity/Duration for hurricanes:
Evaluate (short answer): For coastal Louisiana, explain why both mitigation and adaptation are necessary, using one fact from the Louisiana plan.
Short evaluation for coastal Louisiana: Both are necessary because mitigation (net-zero emissions target) aims to slow future warming, while adaptation/resilience projects (restoring coasts and wetlands) reduce current flood and storm surge risks — the Climate Action Plan pairs emission targets with projects to protect communities. (Supported fact: the plan targets net-zero emissions by 2050 and prioritizes restoring coast and wetlands.)
Heat-focused: Explain why cities can be at least 8°F warmer than nearby rural areas and name one health risk of heat waves listed in the guide.
Heat-focused: Cities trap heat because buildings, roads, sidewalks, and concrete absorb and hold heat; one listed health risk of heat waves is heat exhaustion (also acceptable: heat stroke, illness, death).
Using the vocabulary list: write a one-sentence claim that distinguishes "weather" from "climate" and includes the term "long-term."
Example one-sentence claim: "Weather describes short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate refers to long-term patterns of weather in a region."
Provide a brief CER-style answer: Claim whether climate change made a hypothetical flood more likely; list what kind of evidence scientists would use to support that claim.
Example CER for a hypothetical flood:
HS-level: Describe how scientists would use climate models and historical records together to determine if a particular heat wave was made more intense by global warming.
How scientists combine models and records: They compare observed records (e.g., temperature and precipitation trends leading up to the heat wave) with climate-model simulations of the world with and without increased greenhouse gases; if models including human-caused warming show the heat wave is more likely or stronger than in simulations without warming, scientists attribute increased intensity to global warming.
Design-level: Propose one mitigation policy and one adaptation project appropriate for a Louisiana parish, and explain how each reduces risk (two or three sentences).
Example policy/project and explanation:
Using CER: Claim whether Louisiana's target of net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 is an example of mitigation or adaptation; give one piece of evidence from the Climate Action Plan and explain how it supports your claim.
CER example about net-zero target: