Physical Geography
Chapter 7 Learning Objectives and Study Questions
1. Briefly describe how climate differs from weather.
2. Outline the major factors that influence a region’s climate and explain how these factors are used to
define our climate classification.
3. Locate major climate regions (A = tropical, B = desert, C = mesothermal, D = microthermal, E = polar,
and H = highland) on a world map and explain, in general terms, why each is located where it is.
4. Use temperature and precipitation data to draw a climograph for a station and determine its
classification according to Kőppen’s classification system (Appendix B, p. 591-593).
5. Explain how warming of sea surface and cessation of onshore winds are "connected" during the
occurrence of an El Niño.
6. Cite one anthropogenic change to the atmosphere that is contributing to global warming and one
that is contributing to global cooling. Explain whether, on balance, anthropogenic changes are
forecast to lead to a net positive or negative radiative forcing and describe likely physical and
biological changes that are likely to accompany climate change.
1. Climate can be thought of as the _____ weather conditions of an area.
A. average
B. warmest
C. most extreme
D. rarest
E. mildest
2. An area’s climate depends strongly on all of the following except _____.
A. coastal versus continental location
B. elevation
C. latitude
D. typical wind speeds
E. warm air holding more water than cool air
3. The Kőppen classification differentiates climates based on measurements of _____.
A. temperature and insolation
B. insolation and wind speed
C. pressure and insolation
D. temperature and precipitation
E. insolation and precipitation
4. A-type climates are found _____.
A. at high northern latitudes
B. near the equator
C. between about 15-35° N and S
D. mid-latitudes
E. in highland areas
5. H climates are typically _____ and _____ than lowland climates in the same area.
A. hotter, wetter
B. hotter, drier
C. cooler, wetter
D. cooler, drier
E. windier, wetter
6. What is the first letter of the climate classification for Happy Camp?
A. A
B. B
C. C
D. D
E. E
7. What is the second letter of the climate classification for Happy Camp?
A. f
B. w
C. s
D. m
E. h
8. What is the third letter of the climate classification for Happy Camp?
A. a
B. b
C. c
D. d
E. k
9. During an El Niño event, upwelling ceases in the western Pacific and surface waters become _____
than usual.
A. warmer
B. cooler
C. richer in nutrients
D. saltier
E. wetter
10. _____ are small droplets of liquid and particles that tend to cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back
into space are called _____.
A. aerosols
B. chlorofluorocarbons
C. inceptisols
D. oxisols
E. vertisols
11. Forecast increases in global temperature are predicted to lead to _____.
A. coastal flooding
B. shifts in climate boundaries
C. spread of insect-borne diseases
D. greater climate variability
E. all of the above phenomena