Social Studies 8TEST 2
Name: ______
November 10, 2006
Value: 65 points
I. Matching: Match the term with the appropriate definition. (10 points)
1. Meteorology / A high-altitude wind that flows around the earth in both hemispheres at heights of 9 to 12 km.2. Climate / The leading edge of an air mass.
3. Jet Stream / The rate of change in temperature with elevation
4. Dew Point / A graph that shows average temperatures as a line graph and total monthly precipitation as a bar graph.
5. Front / The type of storm cloud with a flat base.
6. Environment Lapse Rate / The science of weather.
7. Rain Shadow / The climate of a small area where the average conditions differ from those of the surrounding region.
8. Climograph / The average conditions of the atmosphere over a long period of time.
9. Microclimates / The area on the leeward side of a mountain that receives little precipitation
10. Cumulonimbus / The temperature at which condensation occurs.
II. Fill in the Blanks: Using the word banks provided below each paragraph, put the
word that best fits in the blank. (15 points)
WHAT CREATES CLIMATIC DIFFERENCES?
Climatic differences are caused mainly by the fact that the ______is tilted at an angle of 23.50 from the vertical…it is always tilted in the same direction (toward the Pole Star). Therefore the northern parts of the world are tilted toward the ______for part of the year and away from the sun for the other part. When the northern hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, we have ______in North America. Thus when the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, we experience ______in North America.
Summer EarthWinterSun
The ______is located everywhere ______of the Arctic Circle and means that as you go from the ______toward the ______the length of continuous darkness increases from ______at the Arctic Circle to ______at the North Pole.
North6 monthsArctic Circle1 day
North PoleLand of the Midnight Sun
WHAT CAUSES WEATHER VARIATIONS?
______varies in North America because the atmosphere moves. This movement occurs because some regions are heated more by the Sun than other regions. The two (2) main forces causing the ______to move are the intense heat at the equator and the intense cold at the poles.
Canada experiences changes in weather as the result of the changing pattern of ______. These air masses over bodies of water (______) or areas of land (______) have different characteristics, and names that reflect their origins.
ContinentalAir Masses Atmosphere MaritimeWeather
III. Short Response: Answer the following questions in the blanks provided.(10 points)
(i) Describe two (2) ways weather affects our lives:
1) ______
______
2) ______
______
(ii) Summer in North America is not the same in all places…Canada has four (4) distinct
climatic regions. They are:
1) ______
2) ______
3) ______
4) ______
(iii) Which climate does not exist in Canada? ______
(iv) In which Climatic Zone do we live? Describe the weather.
______
______
______
IV. Long Response: Answer the following and label each diagram. (10 points)
In order for any precipitation to fall air must be made to rise. There are three (3) main ways air is forced to rise. Name and explain the three (3) main ways air is forced to rise and include the diagram with your explanation.
1. Frontal precipitation: ______
______
______.
2. Convectional precipitation: ______
______
______.
3. Orographic precipitation: ______
______
______.
V. Climograph: Graph the data below of Chester. Use a red pencil for temperature and a blue pencil for precipitation. Answer the analysis questions after completing the graph.
(10 points)
Chester, Nova Scotia
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Temperature oC -5 -5 -2 9 9 18 19 20 16 12.7 6.3 -0.5
Precipitation cm 8.0 4.8 14.1 7.3 27.5 6.5 7.4 12.5 6.1 12.8 16.6 7.7
STATION ______
oC cm
40 75
35 70
30 65
25 60
20 55
15 50
10 45
5 40
0 35
-5 30
-10 25
-15 20
-20 15
-25 10
-30 5
0
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Analysis of Climograph
For the completed climograph answer each of the following.
Temperature:
Highest and month ______
Lowest and month ______
Range (difference) ______
Precipitation:
Yearly total ______
Season of maximum ______
Season of minimum ______
Number of months of snow ______
VI. Map Skills: On the given outline map of North America (attached), label any
ten(10) of the following Climatic Factors listed below. (10 points)
Climatic Factors:
Pacific Air MassArctic Ocean
Gulf Air MassGulf of Mexico
Polar Air MassGulf Stream
Prevailing WesterliesCalifornia Current
Arctic WindsLabrador Current
South Winds Equatorial Current
Atlantic OceanNorth Pacific Current
Pacific Ocean Western Cordillera