Hand-out in Science 9

CLIMATE
 Climate is the general pattern of weather in a certain area over a long period of time.
 Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a specific place and time.
 Earth’s axis is not perpendicular to the plane of its orbit.
 The shape of the earth resulted in the uneven heating of the earth’s surface.
 The equator receives much of the radiant energy released by the sun, so the places near the
equator have warm climate.
 The places closer to the poles receive less amount of heat because the angle of sunlight
becomes smaller.
Factors that affect climate:
1) Latitude – most of the sun’s rays strike vertically in places near the equator. This makes the
temperature higher in these areas, resulting in warm climate. Places that are not always
vertically hit by the sun’s rays experience cold climate. As the latitude increases, the smaller the
angle of the sun’s rays strike the surface. Therefore, when the area is farther from the equator,
the air temperature is lower. When the place is closer to the equator, the air temperature is
higher.
2) Altitude – the altitude of a place will affect the air temperature. Example: Mt. Kilimanjaro is
located in Africa and found near the equator. It stands 5895 meters above sea level. The peak of
this mountain is covered by ice. How is this possible? That’s because the air temperature
decreases as the altitude increases.
Another example, Why is it that during summer, many people visit Baguio City? Obviously, the
reason is the cold climate there. It has an annual average temperature of 16°C. It has an
elevation of 1435 meters above sea level.
Question: Why do mountain climbers wear jackets and thick clothes when they go up the
mountain? Answer: The air temperature decreases as the altitude increases. For every 1000 m,
there is a drop of 6.5°C. At higher elevation, there is less air. The air molecules are farther apart,
thus making the air less dense. Lighter air cannot absorb much heat, making air temperature
lower. Ultimately, the decrease in air temperature is due to the decrease in air pressure.
3) Distance of one place from the ocean/bodies of water – the climate of the place is influenced by
the surrounding bodies of water. Soil absorbs heat faster than water. At the same time, soil
releases heat faster compared to water. These slow absorption and release of heat by the body
of water greatly affect the climate. Places that are near the oceans have moderate climate as
the body of water regulates the temperature. Even as both soil and water absorb the same
amount of heat, the temperature of water rises more slowly than that of soil. Because soil heats
up faster than water, air temperature above the sea is lower than above ground during daytime.
Warm air thus moves out from the land to sea, slowing down the rise of air temperature above
land. Thus, places without a body of water nearby tend to have higher air temperature during
day time. At night, soil cools down faster than water, so the air temperature above ground is
lower than that above the sea. Warm air then flows from the sea to land, so the drop in air
temperature above ground is moderated. Places that are far from the bodies of water have
extreme climates, as there are no immediate bodies of water that will help to circulate the
movement of cold and warm air. The reason why the temperature of water rises or falls more
slowly than soil is that water has higher heat capacity. Because of this, water also absorbs more
heat in warm days and slowly releases it in cold days. That is why during summer, areas that are
near a body of water will have moderate temperature because water absorbs more heat.
Similarly during winter, surrounding water slowly releases heat causing the cooling effect to
become lesser than normal in the nearby landmass.