Topic 15 What makes a climate zone — what needs James (19)

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 1 · tests EAR5-017

EasyMCQType 1 — which two things describe a climate zone; which zone a described place is in

The island of Fiji is hot all year, and heavy rain falls most months. Which climate zone is Fiji in?

1. a) the tropical zone ← key
2. b) a temperate zone
3. c) a polar zone
4. d) the equator

Why it is this type: The tropical zone is hot all year, with heavy rain most months. Fiji is hot all year, and heavy rain falls most months. So Fiji is in the tropical zone.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 2 · tests EAR5-017

MediumMCQType 2 — which sentence describes a named zone; which zone a monthly table of highs and rain shows

Here is a table of a town's usual highs and its rain through the year. Which climate zone is the town in?

1. a) a temperate zone
2. b) the tropical zone ← key
3. c) a polar zone
4. d) the equator. [Drawing: January 86 heavy rain; April 88 heavy rain; July 87 heavy rain; October 87 heavy rain.]

Why it is this type: The tropical zone is hot all year, with heavy rain most months. The table shows highs of 86 to 88 degrees in every season, with heavy rain. So the town is in the tropical zone.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 3 · tests EAR5-018

EasyMCQType 3 — which line runs round Earth's middle; what latitude is; the equator's latitude; which place is at 90 degrees north

What is the latitude of a place on the equator?

1. a) 0 degrees ← key
2. b) 30 degrees
3. c) 60 degrees
4. d) 90 degrees

Why it is this type: The equator is at 0 degrees. A place on the equator is at the equator's own latitude. So its latitude is 0 degrees.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 4 · tests EAR5-018

MediumMCQType 4 — which place is nearer the equator; which is farthest from it

Here are four places marked on Earth. Which place is farthest from the equator?

1. a) Kampala, Uganda
2. b) Lima, Peru
3. c) Cape Town, South Africa
4. d) Helsinki, Finland. [Drawing: four dots: Kampala at 0 degrees; Lima at 12 degrees south; Cape Town at 34 degrees south; Helsinki at 60 degrees north.]

Why it is this type: The nearer a place is to a pole, the higher its latitude. Helsinki is at 60 degrees north; Cape Town is at 34 degrees south, Lima at 12 degrees south and Kampala at 0 degrees. So Helsinki is farthest from the equator.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 5 · tests EAR5-015

MediumMCQType 5 — which stays hotter / colder / coldest through the year from latitudes; the bare rule on two unnamed towns

Here are the latitudes of Manila, in the Philippines, and Tokyo, in Japan. Which city stays hotter through the year?

1. a) Tokyo
2. b) Manila ← key
3. c) both the same
4. d) you cannot tell from the latitudes. [Drawing: Manila 15 degrees north; Tokyo 36 degrees north.]

Why it is this type: Places near the equator stay hotter all year than places near the poles. Manila is at 15 degrees north and Tokyo at 36 degrees north, so Manila is nearer the equator. So Manila stays hotter through the year.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 6 · tests EAR5-015

MediumMCQType 6 — which sentence about the distance to the Sun is true; why the ground near the poles is warmed less; what happens to a lamp's patch when tilted

Why is the ground near the poles warmed less than the ground near the equator?

1. a) Near the poles the ground is farther from the Sun than the equator is.
2. b) Near the poles the ground is covered in snow, which blocks the Sun.
3. c) Near the poles the sunlight lands at a slant, spread over more ground. ← key
4. d) Near the poles the Sun's light carries less energy than at the equator.

Why it is this type: Near the poles, the sunlight lands at a slant, so the same sunlight is spread over more ground. Each patch of ground there gets less sunlight. So the ground near the poles is warmed less.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 7 · tests EAR5-019

MediumMCQType 7 — what elevation is; which stays colder (a hut and a village); which of three places stays coldest; which town has the warmer summers; the most likely July high at a mountain top; why a top is colder; why a snowy top is cold

Here is Mount Shasta, in California, with the town of Weed at its foot, where the usual July high is 88 degrees. Which is most likely the usual July high at the top of Mount Shasta?

1. a) 88 degrees
2. b) 100 degrees
3. c) 45 degrees ← key
4. d) 75 degrees. [Drawing: Weed at 3,500 feet above the sea, usual July high 88 degrees; the top of Mount Shasta at 14,200 feet, its chip blank.]

Why it is this type: Places high up stay colder than low places nearby. The top of Mount Shasta is 14,200 feet above the sea, more than 10,000 feet above the town, so it is far colder. So 45 degrees is the most likely July high at the top.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 8 · tests EAR5-020

MediumMCQType 8 — what milder means; the cooler summers from a table; which of three towns is on the coast (backward); why the coast town's summer is cooler; fast or slowly; a great lake

Here are the usual highs of three Washington towns, all low and at about the same latitude, and one of them sits on the coast. Which town is it?

1. a) Olympia
2. b) Yakima
3. c) Westport ← key
4. d) you cannot tell from the table. [Drawing: Westport: July 66, January 48; Olympia: July 78, January 46; Yakima: July 88, January 38.]

Why it is this type: Places near the ocean have milder temperatures than places far inland: cooler summers and warmer winters. Westport has the coolest summer, 66 degrees, and the warmest winter, 48 degrees. So Westport is the town on the coast.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 9 · tests EAR5-016

MediumMCQType 9 — what makes the two climates different

Here is a card comparing Tucson and the top of Mount Lemmon, the mountain above it. What makes their two climates different?

1. a) nearness to the ocean
2. b) elevation ← key
3. c) latitude
4. d) the climate zone it is in. [Drawing: Tucson: 32 degrees north, 2,400 feet, near the ocean no, July high 100; the top of Mount Lemmon: 32 degrees north, 9,100 feet, near the ocean no, July high 76.]

Why it is this type: Find the one way the two places differ. Both are at 32 degrees north and both far from the ocean; the top of Mount Lemmon is 9,100 feet up and Tucson 2,400 feet. So elevation makes their climates different.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 10 · tests EAR5-016

HardMCQType 10 — why two nearby towns' climates are alike; what cools a high city on the equator; what the card alone can say when two rows differ; what makes two winters different at one latitude; which list matches three places to their July highs

Here is a card comparing Newport, on the coast of Oregon, and Bend, 150 miles inland and 3,600 feet up. Bend's summers are hotter. Which words say what the card shows about what makes the two climates different?

1. a) Two things differ, so the card alone cannot name one. ← key
2. b) Only latitude differs, so latitude makes the difference.
3. c) Only elevation differs, so elevation makes the difference.
4. d) Only nearness to the ocean differs, so nearness to the ocean makes the difference.

Why it is this type: To spot what makes a place's climate, find a place like it in every way but one. Newport and Bend differ in two ways: Bend is 3,600 feet up AND far from the ocean. So the card alone cannot name one climate-maker; two things differ. Hard because: the routine's boundary — the student must notice two rows differ and refuse to name one.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 11 · tests EAR5-018

HardtypedType 11 — the zone described (two typed words, twice); the line round Earth's middle; the word for how far north or south of the equator

A sign at the airport in Santiago, Chile reads: 33 degrees south of the equator. Type the one word that names how far north or south of the equator the airport is.

Accepted answers (typed): latitude, the latitude, its latitude, lattitude, latitiude, latatude, latidude, latitud.

Why it is this type: How far north or south of the equator a place is, is called its latitude. The airport is 33 degrees south of the equator. So 33 degrees south is the airport's latitude.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 12 · tests EAR5-015

HardMCQType 12 — Omar's claim judged by its correct reason (Hawaii closer to the Sun than Alaska); the reason a town on the equator is hotter than one at 45 degrees south; Otis's claim judged by its correct reason (the top of Mount Hood closer to the Sun)

Omar is wrong when he says Hawaii is hot because Hawaii is closer to the Sun than Alaska is. What is the correct reason?

1. a) Hawaii is farther from the Sun than Alaska is.
2. b) The whole Earth is about the same distance from the Sun. ← key
3. c) The Sun warms Hawaii but not Alaska.
4. d) Hawaii is hot because it is high up. Source: register EAR5 SD-6 (pre-existing), Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year)'s verdict line.

Why it is this type: The Sun is about 93 million miles away, and Earth is only about 8,000 miles across, so Hawaii and Alaska are both about 93 million miles from the Sun. Hawaii is hot because the sunlight hits its ground more directly. So the correct reason is that the whole Earth is about the same distance from the Sun.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar

Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone · Type 13 · tests EAR5-020

HardMCQType 13 — why ice lies on the top of Mount Kenya on the equator; the inland town's likely January high from the coast town's and the summer readings

Two towns in Florida sit at the same latitude, both low. In July, the town on the coast reaches 88 degrees and the inland town 95 degrees. In January, the coast town reaches 70 degrees. Which is most likely the inland town's usual January high?

1. a) 70 degrees
2. b) 64 degrees ← key
3. c) 76 degrees
4. d) 88 degrees

Why it is this type: Places near the ocean have milder temperatures than places far inland: cooler summers AND warmer winters. The inland town has the hotter summer, so it also has the colder winter. So its January high is most likely below 70 degrees: 64 degrees. Hard because: the summer reading tells which town is inland, and the rule then predicts the direction of its winter reading.

Recommendation: Approve as the exemplar