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8.5Chapter 8: Weather and Climate

Chapter 8 Review: Weather and Climate — Alhussan Biology - Stage 8 Revision Notes & Topical Questions

5 min read 8 parts Lesson 5 of 6 1 quiz

📚 Alhussan Biology - Stage 8 Hub / Topical Revision
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Lesson summary

8.5 Chapter 8 Review: Weather and Climate — Alhussan International Academy — Biology (Stages 7–9) notes: Revise weather measurement, the greenhouse effect, natural and human causes of climate change and the evidence for past climates.Weather — the state of the atmosphere at a tim…

  • Instruments
  • Natural effect
  • Enhanced effect
  • Consequences
  • Tree rings
  • Bog pollen

Part 1 of 6Weather and climate

Weather
  • Weather the state of the atmosphere at a time and place, described by temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, air pressure and cloud cover.
Climate
  • Climate the average of weather over at least 30 years.
Instruments
  • Instruments thermometers, rain gauges, anemometers, wind vanes, barometers and sunshine recorders.
  • A thermometer must be kept in the shade, and measurements should be repeated.

Part 2 of 6The greenhouse effect

1Natural effect
  • Natural effect greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour absorb infrared radiation from the warm Earth and re-emit it, keeping the planet warm.
  • This effect is essential for life.
2Enhanced effect
  • Enhanced effect burning fossil fuels, deforestation and farming raise greenhouse gas concentrations and increase global temperatures.
3Consequences
  • Consequences rising sea levels, melting ice, more extreme weather and changes to habitats.

Part 3 of 6Natural climate change

1Causes
  • Causes changes in the Earth's orbit, in the Sun's activity, in atmospheric gases and volcanic eruptions, with feedback such as ice reflecting sunlight.
2Cycles
  • Cycles ice ages and interglacials alternate over thousands of years.
3Rate
  • Rate natural changes took thousands of years, but present warming is faster and linked to the rise in carbon dioxide from human sources.

Part 4 of 6Evidence for past climates

Ice cores
  • Ice cores layers of ice with trapped air bubbles show past gas concentrations and temperature.
Tree rings
  • Tree rings wide rings show good growth in warm, wet years.
Bog pollen
  • Bog pollen pollen types in peat layers show which plants grew and so the climate.
Fossils
  • Fossils the type of fossil in an area shows the climate when the organisms lived.
Reliability
  • Reliability agreement between different sources makes conclusions more reliable, while single records may be local or have dating errors.

Part 5 of 6Peer review

Peer review
Peer review independent experts checking scientific work before it is published in a journal.
  • It increases trust in the evidence, which can then be combined with other studies.
  • Flawed work is corrected before it can mislead anyone.
Repeatability
  • Repeatability scientists record their methods in enough detail for others to repeat them.
Importance
  • Importance climate science affects government decisions, so checked and repeated findings carry far more weight than unchecked claims.

Part 6 of 6Reducing climate change

Reducing climate change
Replace coal with renewable energy to cut carbon dioxide emissions.
Protect forests so that trees continue to absorb carbon dioxide.
Improve insulation to reduce the energy burned for heating.

Key terms

TermMeaning
ClimateThe long-term average weather of a region.
Greenhouse effectWarming caused by gases that absorb infrared radiation.
Proxy evidenceA natural record of past climate, such as ice cores or tree rings.
Peer reviewChecking of scientific work by independent experts.
InterglacialA warmer period between ice ages.
Fossil fuelA fuel such as coal, oil or gas formed from ancient organisms.

Avoid these mistakes

1
Mixing weather and climate.
2
Saying greenhouse gases reflect heat — they absorb and re-emit infrared radiation.
3
Confusing the greenhouse effect with the ozone layer.
4
Giving vague answers such as "pollution" instead of naming carbon dioxide or methane.

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