Weather and Climate: Knowledge specifications
According to the Geography curriculum KS3 pupils should 'understand, through the use of detailed place exemplars at a variety of scales, the key processes in physical geography relating to...weather and climate, including the change in climate from the Ice Age to the present'.
Students will need to learn about the following at KS3:
Students will need to learn about the following at KS3:
- The difference in meaning between the terms weather and climate
- The different categories of climate and which locations they apply to around the world, including; polar, temperate, mediterranean, tropical, arid and mountainous regions.
- Why we measure weather conditions and how they affect us.
- What precipitation, humidity, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, air pressure, cloud cover and sunshine are in technical terms and how we could measure them.
- The individual symbols used on weather charts to represent the above weather conditions/factors and how to combine them.
- The characteristics of high and low pressure systems: anticyclones and depressions.
- The seasonal changes and typical climate of the British Isles.
- Explaining why the British Isles has this climate, considering : prevailing winds, ocean currents, latitude, altitude and the distance from the sea.
- Different types of rainfall: convectional, frontal, and relief,
- Types of clouds.
- The formation of weather hazards, in-particular: fog, droughts, storms and floods, tornadoes and tropical storms.
- A case study of a tropical storm or hurricane e.g. Hurricane Katrina with a consideration of social, economic and environmental impacts.
For KS4 students will also need a detailed understanding of the following:
- The structure of the atmosphere.
- How and why temperatures vary around the world based on global positions due to latitude, altitude, pressure, winds, jet streams and ocean circuits.
- The sequences of weather that accompany depressions and anticyclones in the UK and variations of these through winter and summer.
- Theories and evidence that weather is becoming more extreme and the impacts of this.
- The phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect/global warming including evidence for and against global climate change.
- Understanding of the social, political, environmental and economic impacts of global climate change and responses to it so far e.g. Kyoto Protocol, carbon credits, local responses, recycling.
- Tropical storms formation, structure, characteristics and a case study. This should include an LEDC and MEDC comparison of social, environmental and economic short-term and long-term effects and responses.
Please click on the following link to find a detailed specification for GCSE 'Challenge of Weather and Climate' based on AQA paper A: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/subjects/AQA-9030-W-SP-14.PDF
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