ComparingClimatesSEp

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2019 Name: Date: 11/16 Student Exploration: Comparing Climates (Metric) [Note to teachers and students: This lesson was designed as a follow-up to the Observing Weather (Metric) lesson. We recommend doing that activity before trying this one.] Vocabulary: adaptation, climate, equator, hot desert climate, humidity, latitude, precipitation, temperature, tropical monsoon climate, weather Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. Climate is the average of all weather conditions in a location. Cli- mates can be warm or cold, rainy or dry, and windy or calm. What do you think the climate is like where this palm tree grows? The climate is probably warm, windy and rainy 2. What is the climate like where you live? It fluctuates but it’s a little cold now Gizmo Warm-up In the Comparing Climates (Metric) Gizmo™, you will compare weather conditions, landscapes, and wildlife from different parts of the world. To begin, choose Barcelona from the Location 1 menu. Select the LANDSCAPE tab. Barcelona is a city in Spain that is located on the Mediterranean Sea. You are looking at a landscape near Barcelona. 1. Drag the slider from January to December. Based on what you observe, do you think Barcelona has large temperature changes throughout the year? No 2. Click on an olive tree and read about it. Based on what you read, do you think the climate of Barcelona is very wet or rather dry? Explain. Hot because it’s fire and drought-resistant.

2019 Activity A: Describing climate Get the Gizmo ready : · On the WORLD MAP tab, select New York from the Location 1 menu. Introduction : Climate is the average of weather conditions in a location over many years. In this Gizmo you will focus on four aspects of climate: temperature, wind speed, precipitation (rain and snow), and humidity (how much moisture is in the air). Other climate characteristics include cloud cover and hours of sunlight. Question: How do we describe climate? 1. Predict : Look at New York’s position on the globe. What do you notice? It’s far north of the equator. Based on this, what do you think New York’s climate will be like? Windy, cold and wet 2. Observe : Select the LANDSCAPE tab. Drag the slider from January to December. A. What changes do you see throughout the year?It changes a lot throughout the year B. How many distinct seasons do you notice? I noticed 4 seasons 3. Analyze : Go to the DATA tab. Look at the Avg. temperature graph and table. A. What is the general shape of the graph? It’s a parabola, like a n B. What are the highest and lowest monthly temperatures, and what would you esti- mate is the average temperature for the year? (Hint: The average temperature for the year will be about halfway between the highest and lowest temperatures.) Highest temp. 78F Lowest temp. 33F Avg. temp. 54F C. Select Two locations and choose Barcelona for the second location. Based on what you see, which location experiences greater seasonal changes? Explain. Barcelona and New York. New York has 4 seasons. (Activity A continued on next page)

2019 Activity A (continued from previous page) 4. Observe : Switch to One location and look at the Avg. precipitation graph for New York. A. What is the general shape of the graph? Fluctuating B. About how many millimeters of precipitation fall in a year? Around 45 C. Select Two locations and choose Barcelona for the second location. Based on what you see, which location has a wetter climate? New York has a wetter climate than Barcelona. 5. Describe : Plants and animals have structures, behaviors, and other traits called adapta- tions that help them to survive. For example, the gills of a fish are an adaptation for living under water, while lungs are an adaptation to living on land. Switch to the LANDSCAPE tab, choose One location , and check that New York is se- lected. Click on the deer, squirrel, and oak tree to learn about each organism. Describe one way that each organism is adapted to live in New York’s climate. Organism Adaptation White-tailed deer It has 4 chambered stomach Eastern gray squirrel They build nests to be better for the climate Northern red oak They can deal with the cold 6. Observe : Return to the DATA tab. For New York only, there are two extra graphs: Avg. yearly temp and Yearly precip. These graphs give 30-year records for temperature and precipitation. The numbers in the other graphs are averages of data from the last 30 years. A. Look at the Avg. yearly temp. graph. What do you notice? It stays around 50 degrees B. How do the average yearly temperatures compare to the estimate you made in ques- tion 3B? They are similar C. Look at the Yearly precip. graph. What do you notice? It fluctuates a lot depending on the season D. Which year of the last 30 years was the wettest?1989 was the wettest Driest? 1997

2019 Activity B: Rainforests and deserts Get the Gizmo ready : · Select Two locations . · On the WORLD MAP tab, select Manaus for loca- tion 1 and Cairo for location 2. Question: What are the characteristics of tropical monsoon and hot desert climates? 1. Predict : Look at the positions of Manaus and Cairo on the globe. Based on what you see, what do you predict the climates are like in these locations? They will probably be warm 2. Observe : Select the LANDSCAPE tab and One location . Check that Manaus is selected. Drag the slider from January to December. Observe what happens to the landscape. A. How many seasons do you observe in Manaus? Only season B. Click on the leaf-cutter ant, Guyanan red howler monkey, and kapok tree to learn about each organism. Describe one way that each organism is adapted to live in the thick forests that result from the climate of Manaus. Organism Adaptation Leaf-cutter ant They can move on leaves Guyanan red howler Their tails allow them to swing and get food Kapok tree They have big trunks 3. Analyze : Select the DATA tab. Look at the Avg. temperature , Avg. precipitation , Avg. wind speed , and Avg. humidity graphs. (For the Avg. precipitation graph, click the zoom out [–] button to see the whole graph.) A. What is the shape of the temperature graph? Almost a flat line, it goes very high up B. What is the shape of the precipitation graph? A parabola that is like a U Manaus has a tropical monsoon climate . Tropical climates are found near the Earth’s equator . They are warm and can be wet, dry, or somewhere in between. Monsoon climates have a wet season with abundant rainfall and a dry season with less rain. (Activity B continued on next page) Activity B (continued from previous page)

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