Friday, August 10, 2007
Common test info @ 3:28 AM
For a start, it is chapter 14 to 18. I will keep it brief and I will answer questions for the next few nights till the common test.Chapter 14:
Know briefly what are the advantages and disadvantages the Aswan High Dam brought to the Eygptians, you do not need to know about the salinity, I will not require you to know.
Chapter 15:
Know the difference between weather and climate.
Know how to calculate annual rainfall, mean temperature and temperature range for daily, weekly, monthly and annually.
Before you start screaming your head away at the formula, READ CAREFULLY the similarity for the temperature formula, the only difference would be that the MEAN DAILY TEMPERATURE IS (HIGHEST TEMP + lOWEST TEMP)/2.
Know a few things about the Stevenson screen and the rain gauge, it is all in your notes.
Chapter 16:
There are only 3 climates to learn: Tropical, Temperate and Polar. Know how to recognise the climograph for each climate.
For tropical, it NORMALLY has high rainfall, high temperature & low temperature range. Meaning it will have alot sunlight & high humidity.
For temperate, it NORMALLY has evenly distrubuted rainfall & high temperature range. Meaning it has the 4 seasons and temperature can range from hot (above 21ºC) to cold (below -10ºC)
For polar, it NORMALLY has low rainfall, low temperature and low temperature range. Meaning the area is normally covered in ice and snow, with little rainfall, sunlight and humidity. There is a possibility that there might be a short period of time in the centre of the year where the temperature will be higher than normal with similar amount of rainfall.
Chapter 17:
Know the positive effects (consistent weather and climate pattern) and negative effects (inconsistent weather and climate pattern).
Positive:
1. Wind and solar energy
2. Tourism
3. Farming
Negative:
1. Drought
2. Flooding
3. Heat wave
4. Cold wave
5. Extreme wind
Chapter 18:
For the normal stream, you do not need to know the latititude or the locations, but you need to recognise the vegetation from the picture and describe the climatic factors for the plants there like rainfall, temperature and sunlight. Remember that the higher the rainfall, the more plants. Sunlight and temperature go together.
For the express stream, you must be able to know which form of vegetation exist based on the climograph, look at the annual rainfall to decide if it is a forest (above 750mm), grassland (below 750mm) and desert (below 250mm). Then to decide which sub categories they belong to, look at the temperature. For example, high rainfall and high temperature means it is a tropical rainforest. Low mean temperature (below -10ºC) and higher rainfall & temperature in the middle of the year means it is a coniferous forest. I know this is hard, but do not worry I will not set hard questions in this chapter. To help you better undertsand this chapter, read up on this sites to better help you, it will also help you for chapter 16.
Tropical rainforest:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_rainforest_1.html
Temperate deciduous forest:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/humid_continental.html
Coniferous forest:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/subarctic.html
Tropical grassland:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_steppe.html
Temperate grassland:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/midlatitude_steppe.html
Hot desert:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tropical_desert.html
Tundra:
http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tundra_1.html
I do not expect you to know everything form these sites, they are there just to give you a better understanding of things.