Climate Graphs
What two climate elements are usually shown on a climate graph?
Temperature and precipitation/rainfall.
What are the curved lines joining places of equal atmospheric pressure called?
Isobars
What letter represents a high-pressure system?
H
Name the four main spheres of the Earth.
Atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
Which describes atmospheric conditions over a short period of time?
Weather
Which part of a climate graph normally represents rainfall: the bars or line?
Bars
What does the letter H indicate?
High-pressure
Are high-pressure systems generally associated with clear/fine weather or stormy/wet weather?
Clear/fine weather.
Which sphere includes all living things?
Which describes the long-term patterns of atmospheric conditions in an area?
Climate
A location has its highest temperatures in December–February and lowest temperatures in June–August. Which hemisphere is it most likely in?
Southern Hemisphere.
What does it usually mean when isobars are very close together?
Stronger winds
Is air generally rising or sinking in a high-pressure system?
Sinking
What does hydrosphere mean?
All oceans, rivers, lakes and groundwater (all the water on earth)
Sydney received heavy rainfall yesterday.” Weather or climate?
Weather
A location has warm temperatures all year and high rainfall every month. What type of climate might this suggest?
Tropical
What would you expect when the isobars are widely spaced?
Lighter winds/calmer conditions.
Explain why high-pressure systems often produce clear skies.
Sinking air makes cloud formation less likely, generally creating stable, dry and clear conditions.
A plant grows in soil, takes in water through its roots and absorbs carbon dioxide from the air. Explain which spheres are interacting.
The biosphere interacts with the lithosphere through the soil, the hydrosphere through water, and the atmosphere through carbon dioxide.
Darwin generally experiences hot, wet summers and warm, dry winters.” Weather or climate? Explain.
Climate because it describes a typical long-term pattern rather than conditions on one particular day.
Location A has very little temperature variation throughout the year. Location B has hot summers and very cold winters. Which location has the greater annual temperature range, and how do you know?
Location B because there is a greater difference between its highest and lowest average monthly temperatures.
Two locations are shown on a synoptic chart. Location A has tightly packed isobars, while Location B has widely spaced isobars. Which is likely experiencing stronger winds? Why?
Location A because closely spaced isobars indicate a stronger pressure gradient, which produces stronger winds.
Your school athletics carnival is tomorrow. A large high-pressure system is positioned over your area. Based only on that information, what weather would you predict and why?
Generally stable, fine/dry weather with clearer skies and often lighter winds because high pressure involves sinking, stable air. Exact conditions would still depend on other factors.
Explain the relationship between climate and biodiversity.
Climate influences temperature and rainfall conditions, which affect the habitats and resources available to organisms. Different climatic conditions therefore support different ecosystems and levels/types of biodiversity.
A student says, “It was really cold today, so climate change can't be happening.” Explain the problem with their reasoning.
They are confusing weather with climate. One cold day is a short-term weather event, while climate refers to long-term patterns and averages over many years.