New
New
Year 2

The South Pole and the Antarctic

I can use a range of geographical sources to describe Antarctica and its extreme weather and climate.

New
New
Year 2

The South Pole and the Antarctic

I can use a range of geographical sources to describe Antarctica and its extreme weather and climate.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. The Antarctic Circle is an imagined circle around the South Pole that surrounds the area known as the Antarctic.
  2. Antarctica is a large region, surrounded by the Southern Ocean, and is the coldest and windiest continent on Earth.
  3. Some of Antarctica’s Ice Cap is more than four kilometres thick.
  4. Antarctica can double in size by the end of the Antarctic winter as the sea ice around the continent increases.

Common misconception

Antarctica is a country.

Antarctica is a continent.

Keywords

  • Antarctic Circle - An imaginary line around the earth which surrounds the southern polar region known as the Antarctic

  • Ice cap - A large, permanent covering of ice on land

  • Climate - The average weather conditions, e.g. rainfall, hours of sunshine and winds, over at least 30 years

You can make use of a globe to show how conditions change in Antarctica during summer and winter to help with understanding.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.
Where is the South Pole located?
Correct answer: Antarctica
Arctic
Europe
Africa
Q2.
What is the Earth's axis?
An imaginary line which surrounds Earth.
Correct answer: An imaginary straight line through Earth around which Earth rotates.
A pole which comes out of the surface of Earth.
A line of latitude.
Q3.
What is solar energy?
Correct answer: Light heat that comes from the sun's rays.
Energy from the moon.
Energy from the centre of Earth.
Energy from burning coal.
Q4.
Why does the Antarctic have periods of the year when the sun never sets?
Because the Antarctic is closer to the sun.
The Antarctic is located along the Equator.
Correct answer: The Antarctic is tilted towards the sun for some parts of the year.
Q5.
What is a hemisphere?
A large globe.
Correct answer: Half of Earth.
A quarter of Earth.
A small part of Earth.
Q6.
Which ocean surrounds Antarctica?
Northern Ocean
Correct answer: Southern Ocean
Pacific Ocean

6 Questions

Q1.
What is the Antarctic circle?
Correct answer: An imagined circle around the South Pole that surrounds Antarctica
An imagined line which goes around the middle of Earth
An imagined line which surrounds the Arctic
Q2.
What is Antartica?
Correct answer: A continent
An ocean
A country
Q3.
Where is the coldest windiest place on earth?
Arctic
Mount Everest
Correct answer: Antarctica
Q4.
What is an ice cap?
A floating sheet of ice
Correct answer: A large, permanent covering of ice on land
Ice which melts into the sea
Ice which is found on mountains
Q5.
When is Antarctica's summer?
May to September
Correct answer: November to March
Never
All year round
Q6.
Antartica can double in size in the winter
Correct answer: true
false