Climate Elements
How are gases/things held down to Earth?
Gravity
If you live around the equator, will the temperature be hotter or colder?
Hotter
What was the explosion that occurred 13.7 billion years ago?
The Big Bang
What is Earth's only natural satellite?
Moon
Define solar system
Planetary systems that are made up of a star and celestial bodies that rotate around it
Weather and climate occur in which atmosphere?
Troposphere
Almost non-existent. It rains very rarely.
In what direction does the sun rise and set?
Rise - East, Set - West
In what seasons is the Earth's axis tilted toward the sun and away from the sun?
Toward - Summer (more heat)
Away - Winter (less heat)
Define rotation
Spinning of the Earth on its own axis, lasts about 24 hours
What three factors influence temperature? Describe what they are.
Latitude, altitude and relief, distance from sea
What climate does central and south-eastern Spain have? Explain it.
Mediterranean - Hot summers, mild winters. Moderate rain in seasons (except summer). Vegetation is present but not abundant.
What are the layers of the Earth made of (the composition)?
Core - Mostly iron,
Mantle - Semi-solid layer,
Crust - Thing layer of rocks and soil
Describe the processes of evaporation and precipitation
Evaporation - Sun heats water from seas, rivers, and soil, turning it into vapor. The vapor rises, cools, and condenses, forming clouds.
Precipitation - Water falls as rain, snow, or hail and is distributed - used by vegetation, infiltrating ground, feeding to rivers and lakes, and back to the sea
Define latitude
Measurement of distance in degrees north or south of the equator that decreases in temperature closer to the poles and decreases with precipitation toward the poles
What are two types of pressure? Describe them.
Anticyclone - high pressure = stable and dry weather
Depression - low pressure = rain and clouds
Name each climate zone. Say one thing about each.
Hot
Temperate
Cold
Azonal
What are the four forms of emergent relief? Describe each.
Plain, plateau, mountain, depression
What are the four forms of submarine relief? Describe each.
Continental shelf, abyssal plains, mid-ocean ridges, ocean trenches
Define the lithosphere
Crust and upper part of the mantle. It is the solid outer layer studied in geography. It's divided into tectonic plates and has the Earth's relief
What’s wind’s speed measured with? Because the Earth never stops spinning, what winds are always there?
An anemometer in km/hr. Trade winds and the westerlies
Name every climate (under each climate zone). Describe two.
Equatorial, Tropical, Desert, Mediterranean, Oceanic, Continental, Polar, Mountain
Explain a geographic grid
A coordinate system of parallels and meridians.
Parallels - Horizontal circles (perpendicular to axis), most important = Equator
Meridians - Semicircles running from pole to pole, most important = Greenwich Meridian
Latitude - distance from point to the equator (N/S)
Longitude - distance from a point to the 0º meridian (E/W)
Name the parts of the coastal relief and what they do.
Beach - flat surface at the edge of the sea
Cape - a piece of land jutting out into the sea
Gulf - an inlet of the sea into the coastline
Ria/Fjord - rive or glacial valleys flooded by the sea
Peninsula - land surrounded by water except for the isthmus, which connects it to the mainland
Define orogeny
Mountain formation by collision or separation of tectonic plates.