The Effect of Latitude on Earth's Climate

1. Chapter 1 - Lesson 3 The Effect of Latitude Chapter 1 Earth’s Climates and Vegetation

2. The Effect of Latitude pg 34 • The Earth’s atmosphere holds the air necessary for life • The atmosphere is also important because it is the source or weather and climate patterns • Weather is the state of the atmosphere at any given moment • Climate is important to plant animal and human health • Different plants and animals can only live in certain climates Climate – is the different kinds of weather at a particular place over a long period of time

3. The Effect of Latitude pg 34 • The climate of any given place is caused by a number of factors related to location • Factors: The place’s latitude, its nearness to large land areas or water, and its altitude above sea level

4. The Effect of Latitude pg 34 • Latitude - How far north and south of the equator a place is located • Because the surface of the planet is curved, the sun’s rays hit Earth at different angles. • Near the equator the sun’s rays hit Earth’s surface more directly • Climates near the equator are hot • Areas near the poles never receive direct sun rays causing the poles to be extremely cold

5. The Effect of Latitude pg 34 Temperate – a climate that is not very hot and not very cold overall • Areas in the middle latitudes receive direct sun rays only part of the year, which create the seasons

6. The Effect of Latitude pg 35 • Seasons occur because Earth is tilted on its axis • This tilt exposes the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to the direct sun rays at different times of the year • When the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the sun, it is summer there • At the same time it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere • Tropic of Cancer – 23.5 degrees North Latitude • Tropic of Capricorn – 23.5 degrees South Latitude Tropic – an area on the Earth that is at or near the Equator

7. The Effect of Latitude pg 35

8. How does latitude affect climate on Earth? (pg.35)