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Science Launch G3 / Week 11 / Tuesday
2/6
Week 11 · Climates of the World

Tuesday

Hot places and cold places
// Why different places have different usual weather
⏱ about 15 min

Tuesday: Hot Places and Cold Places

Raven spins a globe. Her finger lands on Hawaii. "Pack a swimsuit!" she says.

Rocket spins next. His finger lands on the top of Alaska. "Pack a parka!"

"What do you notice about where they are?" Raven asks.

Nova taps the globe's middle line. "Look at how far each place is from here," she says.

The equator gets the most direct sunlight

The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of Earth.

Near the equator, the Sun shines almost straight down at noon.

Straight sunlight is strong. It heats the ground a lot.

Near the North and South Poles, sunlight comes in at a low slant.

Slanted sunlight is weaker. So the poles are cold.

Real data from four places

These are normal high temperatures from NOAA, for 1991 to 2020.

Hilo, Hawaii, is closest to the equator. Barrow, Alaska, is farthest north.

PlaceJanuary normal high (°F)July normal high (°F)
Hilo, Hawaii78.782.8
Phoenix, Arizona67.6106.5
Minneapolis, Minnesota23.683.4
Barrow, Alaska-5.247.7
READ THE CLIMATE DATA
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which place is warm in both January and July?
Which place has the coldest July?
Which place has the hottest July?
ORDER THE PLACES FROM COLDEST TO WARMEST JANUARY
  • ?Phoenix, Arizona
  • ?Hilo, Hawaii
  • ?Barrow, Alaska
  • ?Minneapolis, Minnesota
WHY THIS EXERCISEBarrow is about -5, Minneapolis 24, Phoenix 68 and Hilo 79.
The imaginary line around the middle of Earth is the ____.
Places near the poles get ____ sunlight.

Why straight light is stronger

Imagine the same amount of sunlight hitting two spots.

Straight light lands on a small spot. All its heat is packed together.

Slanted light spreads over a big spot. Each part gets less heat.

That is why the equator is warm and the poles are cold.

CLIMATE DATA PUZZLES
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which place has the smallest change from January to July?
Which place has the biggest change from January to July?
Which place has a January high below zero?
StatementTrue or false?
Near the equator, the Sun is almost straight overhead at noon.?
Near the poles, the Sun stays low in the sky.?
Slanted light heats the ground more than straight light.?
Hilo is closer to the equator than Barrow.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEStraight light is strong, slanted light is weak, so the poles are cold.
What is the July normal high in Hilo, Hawaii?
WHY THIS EXERCISEHilo's July normal high is 82.8 degrees.
Try it
Find a globe or a world map with a grown-up.
Put one finger on the equator.
Slide your other finger toward a pole. Is that place warmer or colder?

Super globe work! Tomorrow you test slanted light with a flashlight.

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