WINDS

The wind plays an important role on Earth. Without wind, Earth would have
extreme weathers. The tropical countries would have burned up, while those in the
northern and the southern hemispheres would have frozen solid. In both cases,
life would cease to exist. Thanks to the wind – the circulation of air around the
planet creates the clouds, clear skies, storms, hot and cold, wet and dry climate.

Remember this concept:

WARM AIR RISES.

WIND is a product of movement of air from high pressure area to low

pressure area. When the sun’s radiation unequally heats the surface of the earth,
the heat collected by landmasses and large bodies of water is released, warming
the air above them. Since warm air expands, it becomes less dense and eventually
rise. The cooler, denser air then flows in to replace the warm air. Thus, the wind is
born. Warm air cools as it rises, eventually it becomes denser and sinks again.
This motion of air is called a CONVECTION CURRENT or CONVECTION CELL.

The common example of air convection occurs along the seashore and they
are called sea breeze and land breeze.

Comprehension check!

Direction: TRUE OR FALSE. Write TRUE if the statement is correct and FALSE if
it is incorrect.
_______________1. Earth will have extreme weathers without wind.
_______________2. Wind is a moving air.
_______________3. Wind moves from low pressure area to high pressure area.
_______________4. When warm air expands, it becomes denser.
_______________5. Convection current is the movement of gases from a colder
region to a warmer region.
SEA BREEZE AND LAND BREEZE
The two breezes occur in coastal areas or areas with adjacent large water
bodies. Water and land have different heating abilities. Water takes a bit more time
to warm up and is able to retain the heat longer than land does.

SEA BREEZE. www.eschooltoday.com

In the day, when the sun is up, the land heats up very quickly and the air
above it warms up a lot more than the air over the water. The warm air over the
land is less dense and begins to rise. Low pressure is created.
The air pressure over the water is higher with cold dense air, which moves
to occupy the space created over the land. The cool air that comes along is called
a SEA BREEZE.

LAND BREEZE. www.eschooltoday.com

In the night, the reverse happen. The land quickly loses its heat while the
water retain its warmth. This means the air over the water is warmer, less dense
and begins to rise. Low pressure is created over the water. Cold and dense air
over the land begins to move to the water surface to replace the warmer rising air.
The cool breeze from the land is called a LAND BREEZE.
 Comprehension check!

Direction: Study the diagram and answer the questions below.

1. How does sea breeze work?

_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________

2. How does land breeze work?

_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________

MOTIONS OF THE EARTH

As Earth moves in the vastness of space, it rotates and revolves.
ROTATION is the movement of earth around its axis. The axis of rotation is an
imaginary straight line on earth between the north and South Pole. Earth orbits
within an imaginary flat surface called plane of earth’s rotation. The axis of rotation
is not straight up and down as compared to the plane of earth’s orbit. The axis
makes 23.5 0 perpendicular to the plane of earth’s orbit.
The earth’s rotation axis `maintains approximately the same tilt and
direction as it orbit around the sun. This is why we see the north star (Polaris) on
the same location all throughout the year.
The Earth rotates one complete cycle (360 0) every 24 hours. That means
that except for the poles, every location on Earth’s surface moves a rate of 15 0
every hour. However, the speed of rotation in km/s varies upon latitude. Locations
on the equatorial region travel 40, 075 km in 24 hours or roughly 1, 670 km/hr.
 The movement of the earth in its orbit around the sun is called
REVOLUTION. The evidence of this motion lies in the change of position of starts.
As the earth moves on its orbit, nearby stars appear to shift position as compared
to distant starts. This shift in position, is called PARALLAX.
Earth makes one revolution around the sun every 365 ¼ days (1 year).
Since Earth travels 360 0 (one orbit) in about 365 days, its rate of revolution around
the sun is 1 0 per day. This is equivalent to a speed of 105, 600 km/hr.

Effects of Earth’s Rotation and Revolution

Effects of the Earth’s Rotation are the following:

1. Coriolis Effect – a deflection in the motion of a moving body caused by the
rotation of the surface in which it moves.
2. The length of the day

Effects of the Earth’s Revolution:

1. The changes in daylight and temperature caused by the revolution and tilt lead
to the yearly change of season at idle latitudes.

SEASONS
People would say that we have seasons because Earth’s orbit is elliptical.
It makes sense because the closer the earth is to the sun, the greater energy it will
receive.
There are basic factors that cause the occurrence of seasons:
a. revolution of the Earth around the sun,
b. tilt of Earth’s axis of rotation
c. parallelism of Earth’s axis – refers to the similar tilting of Earth’s axis as
it revolves around the sun. It has the same direction at
whatever position it is on its orbit.
 Comprehension check!

I. Direction: Choose the letter that corresponds to the correct answer.

1. The movement of the Earth around its orbit is called___.
A. rotation B. precession C. revolution D. wobble

2. One complete orbital motion of Earth is accomplished in ___.

A. 24 hours B. one week C. one month D. 365.25 days

3. To what star is the inclination of the Earth’s North Pole pointing?

A. Polaris B. Dubhe C. Deneb D. The Big Dipper

4. The movement of earth around its axis is called ___.

A. rotation B. precession C. revolution D. wobble

5. What do you call the path where the earth is moving around the sun?
A. parallax B. axis C. orbit D. road

II. Explain why do seasons change?

________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

MOONSOONS
 Comprehension check!

I. Direction: Choose the letter that corresponds to the correct answer.

1. Which of the following DOES NOT describe amihan?
A. Brings cold weather
B. Brings lots of rain
C. Comes around July to September
D. Comes from the northeast and moves southward

2. The cold air that we experience from December to February is a monsoon

wind locally known as?
A. Amihan B. Habagat C. PAR D. PAGASA

3. Which of the following is rue about monsoon?

A. They are rains C. They receive energy from the sun
B. They are wind systems D. They contribute to global warming

4. Which wind system arrives in the Philippines during December, January and
February?
A. Northeast monsoon B. Southwest monsoon
C. Tornado D. Hurricane

5. Which of the following describes Amihan?

A. Brings a lot of rain C. Comes around June to September
B. Bring cold weather D. Comes from Northeast winds

ECLIPSES
An eclipse occurs when the moon, sun, and Earth falls on a straight line.
A SOLAR ECLIPSE occurs when the moon moves between the sun and
the earth, partially or fully blocking the sun. There are two to five solar eclipses
every year.

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 A LUNAR ECLIPSE occurs when the earth moves between the sun and
the moon. There are at least two lunar eclipses every year.

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Comprehension check!

I. Fill in the Blanks. Complete the statements below by writing the correct answer.

- A few minutes
- New moon
- Day
- Full moon
- Night
- Several hours

1. A solar eclipse occurs during a _______________________________.

2. A lunar eclipse occurs during ________________________________.
3. A lunar eclipse is seen at ____________________________________.
4. A solar eclipse is seen during the ______________________________.
5. A solar eclipse lasts ________________________________________.
6. A lunar eclipse lasts _________________________________________.