Weather and Climate

SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English.

UNIT 4

WEATHER AND CLIMATE

1.THE ATMOSPHERE.

The atmosphere is a layer of gas that surrounds our planet. It is composed of two gases oxygen and nitrogen.
The atmosphere is responsible for the temperature in our planet.

2.WEATHER AND CLIMATE.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere on a particular day or moment. The weather can be sunny, rainy, foggy, stormy ...

Climate is the average temperature, rainfall, pressure and wind.To study the climate, weather stations measure the state of the atmosphere for decades. The climate can be Polar, Oceanic, Mediterranean...

3.TEMPERATURE

It is the heat in the atmosphere. Temperature can be neasured with a termometre.The temperature can be measured on Degrees Celsius (ºc) and Degrees Fahrenheit (ºf).


Temperature depends on

Latitude. The closer to the Equator, the higher the temperature. Temperature descends as we get closer to the Poles.
Altitude. Temperature descends 0,6ºc every 100 metres we climb. So the higher the place the lower the temperature.
Distance to the sea. The sea makes the temperature mild. The closer to the sea, the warmer the temperature.

CLIMATE ZONES.

TROPICAL.

It is one zone placed between the Cancer and capricorn Tropics.
It is hotter here because the Sun rays get directly on this area.

TEMPERATE

These are two zones placed between the tropics and the poles.

POLAR

The polar zones are placed on both extremes of our planet. It is very cold here( always below freezing) because the Sun rays get very indirectly on the area.




4.RAINFALL.

It is the water that falls from the atmosphere into the Earth. It can fall in the shape of rain, snow or hail.
Rainfall depends on:

Latitude. It rains more often closer to the equator, that is because heat makes water evaporate.
Altitude. It rains more ofter as we we ascend.
The Sea. The humidity caused by the sea produces rainfall.
Rainfall is measured with an instrument called pluviometre.

5.ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE.

Atmospheric pressure is the force of air on a particular point.
Pressure depends on :

Altitude.
Low zones receive more pressure than high zones.
Temperature.
Cold air is heavier than hot air.

High pressure zones or anticyclones correspond to dry, stable weather. Low pressure always bring unstable, rainy weather.

Pressure is measured with an instrumentcalled barometre.





6.WIND.

Wind is the flow of air and other gases that compose the atmosphere.
There are global and local winds.

Global

Global winds are the types of wind that appear all over the world because of the following reasons:

- The earths rotation
- The earths movement around the sun
- Because of the round shape of the world

Local

Local winds are dependant on the scenery. A good example are mountain areas. Wind blows against the mountain and is forced to go up. Because wind is usually going into one direction, the other side of the mountain almost doesn't have any wind.

Water

SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English.

UNIT 3

WATER
WATER Water covers 71% of the surface of our planet, that´s why the Earth is known as “The Blue Planet”.
Water in the oceans and seas is salty and water in the continent is mostly freshwater.

RIVERS Rivers flow in their riverbeds. Rivers appear when the ice from the mountains melts. The place where the river is born is called riverbed and the place where it gets to the sea is called river mouth.
Rivers that do not flow to the sea, but to another river are called tributary.
Rivers are very important for the humans because;
They water the fields.
They produce energy.
They can be used to transport goods.
When a river belongs to two different countries, the governments must sign agreements on the correct use of its waters.

RIVER COURSE

High course. It occupies the first kilometres. Here we can find waterfalls.
Middle course, here the river flows more slowly, we can find meanders in the middle course.
Low course, it is near the river mouth, we can find deltas and stuaries in the low course.

THE RIVER FLOW It is the volume of water that flows into a river. Sometimes it is regular, because there are not big differences in its volume, other times it is irregular because its flow depends on the season of the year.
Sometimes there are floods that cause severe damages on the population.

SEAS AND OCEANS

The hotter the sea the more salty its water.
Oceans are in constant movement; there are streams, tides and waves.
Ocean streams are big masses of water that flow along the oceans.
Tides are movements produced by the attraction of the Sun and the Moon.
Waves are produced by the action of the wind that makes the water move in circles.

The oceans give the human beings food, energy and a way to transport goods or people.









LAKES

A lake is a body of water that is localized to the bottom of a
basin. Its water may come fron the rainfall , from the ocean or from groundwaters.


GROUNDWATER is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of lithologic formations. Groundwater is recharged and eventually flows to the surface naturally; natural discharge often occurs at springs.


GLACIERS AND ICECAPS
Glaciers cover 10% of the surface of our planet. They are mostly freshwater. Glaciers move and when they get to the sea they are called icebergs.
The Gobal Warming may have effect on the melting of glaciers and icecaps with unpredictable consequences for the humans.









3

The Structure of the Earth.

SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English.

UNIT 2

LANDFORMS

STRUCTURE OF THE EARTH

If we moved from the surface into the centre of our planet we would find 3 different layers.
Crust. It is the external layer, life developes on the crust. It represents only 1% of the total volume of our planet.

Mantle . It is in the middle and represents 85% of the total volume. Part of the mantle is molten rock.

Core. The deepest layer. There are both solid and liquid rocks under conditions of extreme temperature and pressure. The core is mostly iron.

CRUST AND TECTONIC PLATES

Most surface of the planet is covered with water from the Oceans. Most of the oceans are in the Northern hemisphere.
Crust is broken into pieces that move constantly at a speed of 2 to 20 cm a year.

LANDFORMS

Include different morphological alterations of the crust.
1

In the Continents.

Mountain
Mountain Range
Glaciers
Valley
Plain
Plateau
Depression

On the Coast

Gulf
Bay
Beach
Cliff
Island
Peninsula
Under the Sea.

Abyss
Ocean Basin
Ocean Ridge

THE ORIGIN OF LANDFORMS

When Tectonic Plates move and collide (touch) the energy that emerges from the inside make the stones fold. This is the origin of mountains and mountain ranges.
2
When rocks are rigid they break and make Faults.
Other times when plates collide earthquakes and volcanos are produced. Vocanos and earthquakes alter the aspect of landscapes.

LANDFORMS CHANGE

The landform is not always the same, it can be altered by the action of water, wind or living beings.

Water. The erosion of rivers can alter the aspect of landform. Rivers form valleys. Oceans and seas also alter the aspect of coasts with beaches and cliffs.

Wind. Can transport small particles of sand and form dunes.

Living Beings. Plants can alter the landscape. Its roots can break rocks. Corals also modify the aspect of the coast with coral reefs.
Human beings modify the aspect of our planet with buildings and agriculture. Very often the action of man on the landscape has very negative consequences.






3

Our Planet. The Earth.

SOCIAL STUDIES. Summaries in English.

UNIT 1.

OUR PLANET THE EARTH.

GLOBES AND MAPS

Our planet (The Earth) is not a perfect sphere. It is a bit flat on the Poles.
The Earth can be represented on globes and on maps. Globes adapt better to reality, but maps are easier to use and transport.

There are different types of maps

Physical Maps They represent landforms, rivers...
Political Maps. They represent countries, borders, states, ...
Theme Maps They give us informations about different aspects as climate, population, agriculture, ...

FINDING POINTS ON A MAP

We can easily locate points with the aid of a compass.
A compass always points the north. There are four points in the Compass Rose, they are north, south, east and west.

PARALLELS AND MERIDIANS.

To locate points on a map, the man has developed an imaginary net that covers the whole planet.

Meridians are imaginary lines that go from the North Pole to the South Pole.
The Prime Meridian or Greenwich Meridian divides our planet into 2 halves. Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere.

Parallels are imaginary circles that run from the Equator to the Poles. The Equator is colloquially known as The Line. The equator divides our Planet into two halves, Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Meridians have always got the same size whereas Parallels become shorter as they get closer to the Poles.

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE help us find the exact position of a point. Latitude is the distance of a point from the equator and longitude indicates the distance of a point from Greenwich Meridian.

G.P.S. Global Positioning System.
It is a machine that gives us the exact position of latitude and longitude. Its technology is satellite based so it is very accuarate and easy to transport.

SCALE
Maps represent reality in a smaller size. The scale shows the connection between the distance in a map and the distance in the real world.