Weather and climate

1. Bartley Secondary School
Upper Secondary Geography
Sec 4N
Core Assignment 2
- 1 -
Name: ________________________________ ( ) Class: _____ Date: ___________
Marks
Topic: Weather & Climate
Skills/Knowledge: Describe formation of rainfall
Using given data, describe and explain climate
Teacher’s General Feedback:
Observation Tick and/or Comments
Lack content knowledge or incorrect referencing
Misconception of knowledge
Misinterpretation of question
Mis-analysis of question marks
Awkward expression of answer
Mismanagement of time / effort
Student Reflection:
1 Star (what way you did well)
1 Wish (what you could improve on based on
teacher’s feedback)
This has to do with how you answered. Do not just blindly copy the observation above!
Additional comments from student:
25

2. Bartley Secondary School
Upper Secondary Geography
Sec 4N
Core Assignment 2
- 2 -
1a. Differentiate between weather and climate. [2]
1b. Fig. 4 shows rainfall at a location in the Sahel region, on the southern edge of
the Sahara desert in Africa.
Rainfall (mm)
Month Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5
Jan - - - - -
Feb - - - - -
Mar - 2 - - -
Apr - - 50 - -
May 22 - 1 18 -
June 7 2 20 1 -
July 11 58 61 9 22
Aug 36 67 26 51 14
Sept 21 26 8 3 4
Oct - - - - -
Nov - - - - -
Dec - - - - -
Fig. 4
(i) Describe the rainfall distribution over the 5 years as shown in Fig. 4. [3]
(ii) With the aid of diagrams, explain the formation of convectional rain. [5]
1c. Study the climatic data for a weather station in an Asian city shown below.
Station 2m above sea level, latitude 13oN
Ja
n
Fe
b
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Temperatur
e (oC)
26 28 29 30 29 29 28 28 28 28 26 25
Rainfall
(mm)
8 20 36 58 198 160 160 175 305 206 66 5
Fig. 5
(i) Calculate the mean annual temperature and the annual temperature
range for the weather station. [2]
(ii) Describe the climate as illustrated by the climatic data above and the
information provided in your answer to 2(ci). [5]
1d. Latitude is the most important factor affecting temperature. How far do you
agree with this statement? [6]

3. Bartley Secondary School
Upper Secondary Geography
Sec 4N
Core Assignment 2
- 3 -
Answer:
1a) Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time
whereas climate is the average condition of the atmosphere of a specific place over
a long period of time, usually over 30 years.
1bi) This region experiences low total annual rainfall over the five years. The highest
total annual rainfall was in Year 3 at 166mm and the lowest total annual rainfall was
in Year 5 at 40mm. This region only experiences rainfall mostly in the middle of the
year from April to September.
1bii) Refer to TB Pg 81
Convectional Rainfall
The sun heats the ground and warm air rises. As the air rises it cools and water
vapour condenses to form clouds. When the condensation point is reached large
cumulonimbus clouds are formed. When the water droplets are too heavy, they fall
to the ground as convectional rainfall.
1ci) Mean annual temperature: 27.80C, Annual temperature range: 30-25 = 50C
1cii) This place experiences a high mean annual temperature of 27.80C and a low
annual temperature range of 50C. The hottest month is in April at 300C and the
coolest month is in December at 50C. It also experiences a high total annual rainfall
of 1397mm. The wettest month is in September at 305mm and the driest month is in
December at 5mm.
1d)

4. Bartley Secondary School
Upper Secondary Geography
Sec 4N
Core Assignment 2
- 4 -
I agree to a certain extent that latitude is the most important factor affecting
temperature. Latitudes are imaginary horizontal lines running from east to west
around the earth. Temperatures are lower at higher latitudes. This is because the
sun’s rays strike at a lower angle and the solar energy is spread out over a wider
area. The temperature is higher when the angle of incidence is high. Heat from the
sun is concentrated on a small area. For example, Singapore is on a lower latitude
than Russia and it has a higher mean annual temperature than Russia.Kartini12
However, there are other factors such as altitude, distance from sea and
cloud cover that affect temperature. Temperature decreases with increasing altitude.
It generally decreases by 6.50C with every 1000m increase in altitude. This is
because air that is nearer to the earth’s surface absorbs more heat from longwave
radiation than air at higher altitude. Another reason is that air is less dense at higher
altitude. Less dense air has less ability to absorb heat. For example, temperature is
lower on the peak of Mount Everest.
The amount of cloud cover also affects temperature. More cloud cover results
in a smaller difference between day and night temperatures. This is because during
the day, the clouds reflect a large portion of the sun’s energy back to space. This
keeps the earth’s surface cool. During the night, the cloud absorbs more of the heat
that is radiated from the earth’s surface and prevents it from escaping to space. This
keeps the temperature warm at night.