Theme 5 - Weather, Climate and Ecosystems

Question 1

What is Climate change?

Answer 1

Climate change is a natural phenomenon and over the past 11,000 years, the Earth’s surface temperature has changed a great deal.

Question 2

What evidence is there that climate has changed in the past?

Answer 2

Fossils of plants
Ice cores
Tree rings
Historical records such as diary extracts, crop yields for local registers and paintings

Question 3

What recent evidence is there of climate change?

Answer 3

Increasing CO2 levels in the atmosphere
Shifting seasons leading to changes in the migration patterns of birds and insects
Glaciers and ice sheets melting and retreating
Temperature increase

Question 4

What are the natural causes of climate change?

Answer 4

Changes in the earth’s orbit
Changes in the tilt of the Earth
Changes in the output of solar radiation
Volcanic activity

Question 5

What is the carbon cycle?

Answer 5

The process by which carbon moves from the atmosphere to the Earth and the oceans, through various plants and animals, and then back into the atmosphere again.

Question 6

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 6

The natural process by which the atmosphere warms up.

Question 7

How does human activity affect the carbon cycle?

Answer 7

Burning fossil fuels
Deforestation
Dumping waste in landfill
Farming

Question 8

What is a tropical storm?

Answer 8

A severe low-pressure weather system which develops over tropical maritime seas.

Question 9

What is a heatwave?

Answer 9

An extended period of hot weather relative to the expected conditions at that time of the year

Question 10

What is a drought?

Answer 10

A lack of precipitation in an area for a long period of time

Question 11

What areas are affected by drought?

Answer 11

Australia 
South America - Brazil
Africa - the Sahel (South of the Sahara Desert)
Asia - areas of China and India 
The Mediterranean

Question 12

Why do droughts happen?

Answer 12

Lack of rainfall
An environment, soil or bedrock which is poor at storing and retaining water
Hot weather which increases evaporation of water

Question 13

How do high-pressure systems lead to weather hazards?

Answer 13

High pressure leads to light winds, dry weather conditions and sometimes drought

Question 14

What factors affect the UK’s climate?

Answer 14

Latitude
Altitude
Aspects
Ocean currents

Question 15

What weather is associated with low-pressure?

Answer 15

Cloudy, rainy and windy weather

Question 16

What weather is associated with high-pressure?

Answer 16

Low wind speeds and stable conditions with no clouds
In summer, rapidly rising warm air may result in convectional rainfall and thunderstorms
In winter, clear skies bring cold nights and perhaps ice and fog

Question 17

What is a microclimate?

Answer 17

A microclimate is the climate of a small-scale area. e.g. a garden, valley, uplands, coasts, forests, urban areas or city

Question 18

What is the water cycle?

Answer 18

The movement of water between stores of water in the hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Question 19

What is the nutrient cycle?

Answer 19

The movement of nutrients in the ecosystem between the stores in the hydrosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere.

Question 20

What is the food web?

Answer 20

The system of interlocking and interdependent food chains

Question 21

What is the food chain?

Answer 21

The interconnections between different organisms that rely on one another as their source of food

Question 22

What is biodiversity?

Answer 22

A measure of the variety of plants and animals that live in an ecosystem

Question 23

What are the key services provided by ecosystems?

Answer 23

Timber for building
Food and clean water
Flood control
Preventing soil erosion 
Providing medicines
Spiritual and leisure resources
Maintaining conditions for life on earth

Question 24

What are the 3 main kinds of habitat loss?

Answer 24

Habitat destruction- deforestation, draining wetlands and damming rivers
Habitat fragmentation- urban development, dams and water diversions
Habitat degradation- pollution, the introduction of a new species and disruption of ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycles

Question 25

How can ecosystems be managed sustainably?

Answer 25

Clean water in rivers
Reducing risk of flooding
Providing natural resources such as timber and air to breathe
Producing food such as fish and honey