Guiding Questions: Climate Notes

Section 14.1 What is Climate?

1.Define climatology. is the study of earths
climate and factors that affect past,
present, and future climatic changes
2.What factors does climate include in
addition to average weather conditions?
temperature, precipitation, wind, and
other weather variables.
3.Give two examples of how climatic data
can be used. used by companies so they
know the best place to build facilities and
for people with medical conditions that
require a certain climate.
4.Why must we exercise caution when using
normals to predict weather? because of
changes in elevation
5.What factors cause climate?
temperatures, amounts of rain fall, wind
speed and direction, humidity, and air
pressure.
6.Why are coastal areas cooler in the
summer than inland areas? because we
live by the water water heats up and cools
down more slowly than land
7.Describe the relationship between
temperature and altitude. temperature
increases with altitude

8.Figure 14-3 depicts what effect of

orographic lifting that we discussed last
Friday? (HINT: return to those notes!)
Section 14.2 Climate Classification
1.Name the system used to classify climates.
What factors does it consider? koeppen
classification system
2.List the six main climate types. tropical,
mild, dry, continental, polar, and high
elevation
3.What climate type do we live in? List its
characteristics. mild climate, humid, coast
climates, and Mediterranean climates. Mild
winters and cool summers.
4.What is a microclimate? Give an example.
a localized climate that differs from the
main regional climate. Washington, dc.
5.What is the heat island effect and where
does it occur? the presence of many
concrete buildings and large expanses of
asphalt. The climate is warmer that in the
surrounding rural aera.