SNC 2P
Name:________________________
Do you understand the climate drivers?
1. The amount of energy Earth absorbs is equal to the amount of energy it radiates. Why is this
important? Explain your answer.
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2. What would you expect to happen to the temperature on Earth if
a) The amount of energy radiated by Earth increased but the amount of energy coming from the Sun
stayed the same?
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b) The amount of energy radiated by Earth decreased but the amount of energy coming from the Sun
stayed the same?
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3. Using the diagram, answer the following questions:
a) Which solar beam covers the greater surface
area? A or B
b) Which area would be the warmest? A or B
c) Which area would the solar beam have to
travel through a greater amount of
atmosphere? A or B
d) If the atmosphere absorbs some of the
sunlight, in which area would more of the
sunlight be absorbs and therefore be cooler
because less light reaches the surface of the Earth? A or B
e) Using your responses from above, why is it colder at the poles and warmer at the equator?
(include surface area and amount of solar energy coming in)
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SNC 2P
Name:________________________
4. Label the four seasons for North America on this diagram.
5. Albedo is the ability of a material or substance to reflect light. Explain how ice’s high albedo has an
impact on the Earth’s overall temperature.
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6. A feedback loop is a process in which the result acts to influence the original process. One of the most
important feedback loops is called the albedo effect. This is a positive feedback loop between ice on
Earth’s surface and Earth’s average temperature. Draw a diagram for the feedback loop caused by the
albedo effect when Earth’s temperature is increasing and when Earth’s temperature is decreasing.
7. Land warms up and cools down faster than water. Air in the atmosphere is heated from the bottom
up by heat given off by the surface. Locate Vancouver and Calgary on a map. If the sun shines equally
on both Vancouver and Calgary, which location would get hotter during a summer day? Explain. Which
city would probably have a bigger difference between its day and night temperatures? Explain.
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SNC 2P
Name:________________________
8. With the help of a diagram, explain how land breezes and sea breezes are formed. In addition provide
an explanation of your diagram. Your explanation should include a description of the temperature
above land and water and the convection current that will arise.
9. How does energy travel to earth? How is it reflected, transmitted and absorbed by different
substances on earth’s surface? Use the words radiation, conduction and convection in your answer.
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10. Know which substances are effective at absorbing solar and infrared radiation. What are the
greenhouse gases, how are they produced and what processes remove them from the atmosphere
(carbon sinks)?
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SNC 2P
Name:________________________
11. How does the greenhouse effect work and why is it important for life on earth? Use a diagram to
help.
12. Water is an important greenhouse gas. Draw a feedback loop that shows the relationship between
water vapour and temperature.
13. How does the concentration of greenhouse gases affect the overall temperature on Earth?
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14. Thermohaline circulation. Describe influence of temperature and salt on water movement. Explain
why certain areas have higher salinity than others.
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15. How does water influence climate of areas near oceans? Remember, water must absorb a great
amount of heat before noticing a change in temperature. Its temperature will also decrease slowly.
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SNC 2P
Name:________________________
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16. Using the diagram of the thermohaline circulation of the ocean, identify an area in the world that is
likely to have a warm, damp climate due to ocean currents. Use the map to identify a region that is
likely to have a cold, dry climate due to ocean currents.
17. Why does the water sinks near Greenland (North Atlantic)?
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