This set covers reading climate data, calculating a temperature range and a mean, explaining rainfall, judging instrument readings, and separating weather from climate. All data is invented for practice.
Work in order, from easier to harder. Write each answer on paper before opening the explanation, and include units. The mistake log and retest queue is useful for recording slips, and the statistics and distribution explorer can check your means.
Data for questions 1 to 4 (invented, Town D, four months only):
| Month | Jan | Apr | Jul | Oct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean temperature (°C) | 8 | 12 | 21 | 13 |
| Rainfall (mm) | 40 | 55 | 90 | 65 |
Questions
1. Which of the four months is the warmest?
Show answer
Compare the temperatures 8, 12, 21 and 13 °C. The highest is 21 °C, so the warmest month is July.
2. Calculate the temperature range for these four months.
Show answer
Range = highest − lowest = 21 − 8 = 13 °C.
3. Find the total rainfall for the four months and the mean per month.
Show answer
Total = 40 + 55 + 90 + 65 = 250 mm. Mean = 250 ÷ 4 = 62.5 mm per month.
4. A student writes “the highest temperature is 90 °C in July”. Explain the mistake.
Show answer
The student read the rainfall value (90 mm) as a temperature. Rainfall is read in mm against its own scale, and the July temperature is 21 °C. A mean monthly temperature of 90 °C is not realistic, which is a useful sense check.
5. (a) The highest temperature on one day is 33 °C and the lowest is 25 °C. Find the daily range. (b) On a winter day the highest is 3 °C and the lowest is −7 °C. Find the daily range.
Show answer
(a) 33 − 25 = 8 °C.
(b) 3 − (−7) = 3 + 7 = 10 °C. Check: from −7 to 0 is 7, then 0 to 3 is 3, which gives 10.
6. The highest temperatures over seven days are 30, 32, 31, 29, 33, 31 and 30 °C. Find the mean to one decimal place.
Show answer
Sum = 30 + 32 + 31 + 29 + 33 + 31 + 30 = 216. Mean = 216 ÷ 7 = 30.857…, which is 30.9 °C to one decimal place.
7. Explain how convectional rainfall forms.
Show answer
- The sun heats the ground.
- The ground warms the air above it, and the warm air rises.
- The rising air cools.
- Water vapour condenses into droplets and forms cumulonimbus cloud.
- Heavy rain falls, sometimes with thunder.
A diagram with a heated ground, upward arrows, a cloud and rain is a good partner to this answer.
8. A hill has an invented annual rainfall of 900 mm on the windward side and 400 mm on the leeward side. (a) Find the difference. (b) How many times larger is the windward total? (c) Explain the difference.
Show answer
(a) 900 − 400 = 500 mm.
(b) 900 ÷ 400 = 2.25 times.
(c) Moist air is forced up the windward slope, cools and condenses, so rain falls there. On the leeward side the air sinks and has less moisture left, which creates a rain shadow.
9. A rain gauge sits under a large tree, and a thermometer is fixed on a sunny wall. State one error in each reading and its direction.
Show answer
The gauge under the tree: leaves intercept rain, so the rainfall recorded is too low. The thermometer on a sunny wall: it is heated by direct sun and nearby surfaces, so the temperature recorded is too high. A shaded, open site would improve both.
10. Classify each as weather or climate. (a) Fog covered the town this morning. (b) Mean July temperature has been 27 °C over thirty years. (c) Last week was the wettest of the year.
Show answer
(a) Weather, one morning. (b) Climate, a long-term average. (c) Weather, one week, even though it is unusual.
11. One day’s rainfall is 60 mm, and the invented monthly average for that month is 120 mm. What percentage of the monthly average fell in that one day?
Show answer
60 ÷ 120 = 0.5, so 50%. This is a large share for one day, which makes the event notable but still a weather event.
12. A place has a warmest monthly mean of 28.1 °C and a coolest of 25.9 °C. Find the annual range. Suggest why a range like this is small.
Show answer
Range = 28.1 − 25.9 = 2.2 °C. A small range suggests the place receives similar solar heating all year, as happens near the equator.
If you got these wrong
| Slip | Questions | Go back to |
|---|---|---|
| Reading the wrong axis or missing units | 1, 3, 4 | Read a climate graph correctly |
| Sign errors or wrong subtraction | 2, 5, 6, 12 | Calculate a temperature range |
| Explanation missing cooling or condensation | 7, 8 | Explain a rainfall mechanism with a diagram |
| Vague comments on instrument accuracy | 9 | Interpret weather observations with instrument limits |
| Overclaiming from short evidence | 10, 11 | Distinguish a weather event from a climatic pattern |
Return to the module overview to review the study route. If one row keeps appearing in your own answers, online one-to-one Geography tuition lets a teacher trace the pattern in your working.