Introducing climate
I can understand the position of the Earth in space in relation to the sun and how this affects climate.
Introducing climate
I can understand the position of the Earth in space in relation to the sun and how this affects climate.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Earth rotates on a tilted axis as it orbits the sun.
- The sun’s energy is more concentrated near the Equator and spread out over a larger area near the poles.
- Average temperature across the Earth is related to how far from the Equator a place is located.
- Climate is the average pattern of weather taken over a period of time, usually 30 years.
- Some areas of the world share a similar climate; we call these climate zones.
Common misconception
That weather and climate are the same thing.
Weather changes from day to day, from place to place and from one season to another. Weather refers to the conditions at any particular place or time. Climate describes the average pattern of those weather conditions over a much longer period of time
Keywords
Solar energy - The light and heat that come from the sun's rays are solar energy.
Equator - The Equator is an imaginary line of latitude going around the centre of Earth.
Poles - The North Pole is at the northern end of Earth’s axis and the South Pole is at the southern end of Earth’s axis.
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).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
warm weather
wet weather
bright weather
cool weather
dull weather
Exit quiz
6 Questions
the coldest places on Earth
a horizontal line around the exact centre of Earth
day to day conditions in a place, e.g. raining, sunshine, snow
places with similar average weather conditions