Climate

Question 1

Name the climate regions of Canada

Answer 1

1. Arctic
2. Taiga
3. Boreal
4. Prairie
5. Cordillera
6. Pacific Maritime
7. Atlantic Maritime
8. Southeastern

Question 2

What is weather?

Answer 2

A combination of temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, and winds that occur daily.

Question 3

What is climate?

Answer 3

Weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period of time.

Question 4

Continental climate is what?

Answer 4

• low precipitation

- great temperature range

Question 5

Maritime climate is what?

Answer 5

• high precipitation

- low temperature range

Question 6

How does the greenhouse effect protect life?

Answer 6

1. Absorbs ultraviolet solar radiation
2. Warms the surface through heat retention
3. Reduces temperature extremes

Question 7

List the major world climate regions in order

Answer 7

1. High latitudes/ Arctic circle
2. Temperate Regions/ Middle latitudes
3. Low latitudes/ Tropics
4. Polar regions

Question 8

The antarctic circle lies where?

Answer 8

66.5 degrees south

Question 9

Where is the arctic circle?

Answer 9

66.5 degrees north

Question 10

Climate influences what?

Answer 10

1. Clothing
2. Housing
3. Where people live

Question 11

Why does Canada’s climate vary so much?

Answer 11

1. Cover a lot of distance north to south
2. Different elevations- Canada has several highlands and lowlands
3. Coastal and inland regions have different climates
4. Wind and pressure systems move weather conditions around

Question 12

What does latitude affect?

Answer 12

Average annual temperature

Question 13

What happens when you increase elevation? Why?

Answer 13

It gets colder because there is less air pressure to trap the heat.

Question 14

How do ocean currents affect temperature and what does this cause in Canada?

Answer 14

Air passing over ocean currents is effected by the temperature as they are. In Canada this makes the temperatures of the east and west coasts to differ greatly.

Question 15

What are air masses?

Answer 15

Air masses are large volumes of air with the climate conditions of where they were formed.

Question 16

Total annual precipitation can range from:

Answer 16

140 mm-1229mm

Question 17

How does precipitation occur?

Answer 17

Air containing water vapor cools to the point that condensation is greater than evaporation.

Question 18

What are the main types of precipitation?

Answer 18

Relief,convectional, and frontal

Question 19

How does relief precipitation occur?

Answer 19

Air rises up the windward slope of a mountain range, expands, and cools.
The rate of evaporation decreases and the rate of condensation increases. Water droplets form in the air, become to heavy, and fall.On the leeward side of the mountain the opposite occurs, where the air descends.

Question 20

How does convectional precipitation occur?

Answer 20

Heated ground due to sun causes water vapor in warm air to rise. As Air expands and cools, water vapor condenses and falls to ground sometimes as thunderstorms

Question 21

How does frontal precipitation occur?

Answer 21

A warm and cold air mass collide. The warm is forced above the cold where water vapor condenses and precipitates on the leading edges of the masses- the warm front and the cold front.

Question 22

What affects climate?

Answer 22

Latitude, Ocean currents, Wind, Elevation, Relief, Near water.

Question 23

How does latitude affect climate?

Answer 23

Temperature decreases as you move further north or south because the sun’s rays are spread over a larger area.

Question 24

How do ocean currents affect climate on the west coast?

Answer 24

The warm North Pacific current heats the cool, moist air over it. This gives the west coast a mild climate.

Question 25

How does wind affect climate?

Answer 25

Global pattern of prevailing winds that move air masses and affect our weather

Question 26

How does elevation affect climate?

Answer 26

The higher up you go the cooler it gets.

Question 27

What is the rate of cooling?

Answer 27

0.6 degrees/ 100m

Question 28

How does relief affect climate?

Answer 28

Mountain ranges act as barriers to The movement of air masses and cause precipitation.

Question 29

How does nearness to water affect climate?

Answer 29

Water heats and cools slowly. Winter: water is Warmer than land and opposite in summer

Question 30

What are all the climate types?

Answer 30

Arctic, continental, humid continental, west coast maritime, east coast maritime.

Question 31

What characterizes an arctic climate? Give an example.

Answer 31

1. High temperature range.
2. Low annual precipitation
3. Cold winters, cool short summers.
4. Low average annual temperature
   ex. Alert, NWT

Question 32

What characterizes a continental climate? Give an example.

Answer 32

1. High temperature range
2. Low annual precipitation
3. Cold winters, warm summers
4. Most precipitation in summer
   ex. Regina, Sask.

Question 33

What characterizes a humid continental climate? Give an example.

Answer 33

1. Moderate temperature range.
2. Moderate annual precipitation
3. Mild winters, hot summers
4. Higher precipitation in summer.
   ex. Toronto, ON

Question 34

What characterizes a west coast maritime climate? Give an example.

Answer 34

1. Low temperature range
2. High annual precipitation
3. Mild winters, mild summers
4. Low summer precipitation
   ex. Vancouver, BC

Question 35

What characterizes an east cost maritime climate? Give an example.

Answer 35

1. Low temperature range.
2. High annual precipitation
3. Moderate winters, moderate summers
4. Same precipitation all year round
   ex. Halifax, NS