SCIENCE - GRADE 9

Name: ______________________________________ Date: ____________________

Grade: ______________________________________ Section: ___________________

Quarter: 3 Week: 5 SSLM No. 5 MELC(s): Explain how different factors affect the
climate of an area. (S9ES-IIIe-30)

 Objectives: 1. Enumerate the factors that affect climate of an area.

2. Explain how latitude, altitude, distance from the sea waters,
topography and ocean currents affect the climate of an area.

 Title of Textbook/LM to Study: Science 9 Learner’s Module

 Chapter: 3 Pages: 182-195 Topic: Climate and its factors

Let Us Discover

Climate is the general pattern of weather in a certain area over a long period of time. On the
other hand, weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a specific place and time.

Temperature and precipitation are two noticeable factors that describe climate. Both
temperature and precipitation are influenced by other factors. What are the factors affecting
the climate? How does each factor affect climate?

Factors affecting climate

Latitude is the measurement of distance north

or south of the Equator. It is measured with
180 imaginary lines that form circles around
the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator.
These lines are known as parallels. A circle
of latitude is an imaginary ring linking all
points sharing a parallel. Study figure 1, as
you have noticed that most of the sun’s rays
strike vertically in places near the equator.
This makes the temperature higher in these
areas, resulting in warm climate. Places that
are not always vertically hit by the sun’s rays
experience cold climate. As the latitude increases, the smaller the angle of the sun’s rays
strike the surface. Therefore, when the area is farther from the equator, the air
temperature is lower. When the place is closer to the equator, the air temperature is
higher.

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Altitude is one of the factors that affect climate. It is commonly used to mean the height
above sea level of a location. Elevation is the other term for altitude. The altitude of a place
will affect the air temperature. Look at Figure 2. Mt. Kilimanjaro is located in Africa and is
found near the equator. It stands 5895m above sea level. The peak of this mountain is
covered by ice. That’s because the air temperature decreases as altitude increases. Why is
it that during summer many people visit Baguio City (Figure 3)? Obviously, the reason is the
cold climate there. It has an annual average temperature of 16Co. It has an elevation of
1435m above sea level. Why do mountain climbers wear jackets and thick clothes when
they go up the mountain? The air temperature decreases as the altitude increases. For
every 1000m, there is a drop of 6.50C. At higher elevations, there is less air. The air
molecules are farther apart, thus making the air less dense. Lighter air cannot absorb
much heat, making air temperature lower. Ultimately, the decrease in air temperature is due
to the decrease in air pressure.

Figure 2. Mt. Kilimanjaro Figure 3 Baguio City

Topography is another factor that affects the climate of a certain place. One of the
topographic features of an area is mountain. Mountainous areas greatly affect the amount of
precipitation in a certain region. The area in which the wind blows is called the windward
side. Here, the wind is blocked by the mountain, forcing it to move upward. As it moves up,
water vapor condenses and forms clouds. This will result in precipitation on the windward
side. The air moves down towards the opposite region called leeward side. The cold air
mass starts to absorb heat and becomes warm and dry. As a result, the area near the
leeward side becomes dry and has less precipitation. The dry region on the leeward side is
called rain shadow. Vegetation in this region includes desert plants and grassland. Mountain
is an example of topographical features of the land. As you noticed, the picture shows the
two sides of the mountain. One side is facing the wind and has low temperature. Clouds are
forming here due to the condensation of water vapor. This formation of clouds develops to
become rain. On the other side of the mountain, there is no cloud formation. The
temperature is high and precipitation does not happen. This results in the formation of a dry
and warm region.

Figure 4 Surface Features

Surrounding bodies of water can also affect the climate of an area. Soil absorbs heat
faster than water. At the same time, soil releases heat faster as compared to water. It is
because water is a slow conductor of heat; thus, it needs to gain more energy than the sand
or dry land in order for its temperature to increase. Places that are near the oceans have a
moderate climate as the body of water regulates the temperature. Because soil heats
up faster than water, the air temperature above the sea is lower than above the ground

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during day time. Warm air thus moves out from land to sea, slowing down the rise of air
temperature above land. Thus, places without a body of water nearby tend to have higher air
temperature during day time. At night, soil cools down faster than water, so the air
temperature above ground is lower than that above the sea. Warm air then flows from sea to
land, so the drop in air temperature above ground is moderated. Places that are far from
bodies of water have extreme climates, as there are no immediate bodies of water that
will help circulate the movement of cold and warm air. Water absorbs more heat during
summer. This is why during summer, areas near a body of water stay cooler with moderate
temperatures. In winter, the surrounding water slowly releases heat, causing the cooling
effect to become lesser than normal in the nearby landmass.

Figure 5 Bocacay island coastal area Figure 6 Palawan coastal area

Ocean currents have also an important role in changing the climate of a certain area. They
affect the temperature of nearby land masses. Warm currents that move from the equator
towards the poles carry warm water. On the other hand, cold currents that travel from the
poles towards the equator carry cold water. Figure 6.1 shows different loops or gyres of
surface currents around the world. In the northern hemisphere, the current flows in a
clockwise direction. On the other hand, in the southern hemisphere, the current flows in
counterclockwise direction. These clockwise and counterclockwise of ocean currents are
caused by the Coriolis Effect. Ocean currents that flow away from the equator carry warm
water. The air above the warm water has a higher temperature. When ocean currents that
bring cold water move towards a coastal region, the temperature of that area decreases as
warmer air from the land flows to the sea resulting in a cold climate. When warm ocean
currents that take along warm water go to a land mass, the temperature of that place
increases as warmer air above the water flows inland, resulting in a warm climate.

Figure 7 Ocean currents

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 Let Us Try

Activity 1: When the Sun’s Rays Strike

Objective: Explain how latitude affects climate

Procedure: Study the illustration on Figure 1 above (The Sun’s rays and the Earth)
Guide Questions:
Q1. How much is the tilt of the Earth’s axis?
_________________________________________________________________________
Q2. Which part of the Earth receives most of the sun’s rays?
_________________________________________________________________________
Q3. Why does the amount of heat receive by places far from the equator become less?
_________________________________________________________________________
Q4. Why are the coldest places on Earth found near the poles?
_________________________________________________________________________
Q5. How does latitude affect climate? ___________________________________________

Activity 2: The Higher, the Colder

Objective: Explain how altitude affect climate

Materials: Pencil or ball pen, Ruler
Procedure: Study the data presented on Table 1 below.

Table 1. Elevation and annual average temperature of selected areas in the country
Name of Place Elevation above Annual average
sea level (m) temperature (0C)
Bacolod 10 27.5
Baguio 1400 16.0
Laoag 20 27.3
Manila 10 27.7
Tacloban 20 29.4
Tagaytay 640 22.7
Zamboanga 30 27.6
Source: Deped Science 9 Learner’s Module, First Edition 2014, page 186

Guide Questions:

1. Which place has the highest elevation above sea level? ___________________________
2. Which place has the lowest annual average temperature? _________________________
3. Which place is the coldest? Why? ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. Which place is the hottest? Why? ____________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
5. Based on the data, what is the relationship between altitude and temperature of a place?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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 Let Us Do

Activity 3. Which Should I Choose, Windward or Leeward?

I. Objectives:
1. To differentiate windward and leeward sides of a high land; and
2. To explain how topography affects climate
II. Materials: pencil or ball pen, an illustration of the windward and leeward sides of
a mountain
III. Procedure: Study the illustration above on Figure 4 (Surface Features) and
answer the guide questions that follow.
1. What happens to water vapor as it rises over the mountain?
_____________________________________________________________________
2. Which side of the mountain experiences low temperature?
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Which side of the mountain experiences high temperature?
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What happens when air becomes warmer as it moves down the leeward side?
_____________________________________________________________________
5. What dry region forms at the back of the mountain?
_____________________________________________________________________
6. How does topography affect climate?
______________________________________________________________________

Activity 4 – Ocean Currents

Objective: Explain how ocean currents affect climate

Materials: Pencil or ball pen, Map of ocean currents, Ruler, bond paper
Procedure: Study Figure 7 (Map of ocean currents) on page 4 and answer the guide
questions that follow

Guide Questions:
1. What are the different ocean currents that carry warm water? Give three examples.
___________________________________________________________________
2. What are the different ocean currents that carry cold water? Give three examples.
___________________________________________________________________
3. What kind of air does Greenland Current take along? Explain.
___________________________________________________________________
4. How do the Kamchatka Current and Kuroshio Current affect the northeastern part
and southern part of Japan?
___________________________________________________________________
5. How do ocean currents affect climate?
___________________________________________________________________

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 Let Us Apply

Act yourself as if you are a tourist guide in a company. One of your ways to
entertain your clients is to showcase the places that they are visiting. Your task is to choose
at least two famous places in the Philippines, and then explain the climatic conditions of that
place. Use your learnings in this lesson to complete your task. Since it is pandemic, you may
show it through a video presentation. Your presentation output will be graded by the rubric
given.

Rubric

4 3 2 1
Purpose All the parts of the All the parts of the Most of the parts Many parts of the
presentation presentation said of the presentation
contributed to the something rather presentation said needed
clear and important about the something improvement.
interesting topic and vaguely important
presentation of the appropriate to the about the topic,
topic, purpose and topic, purpose and purpose, and
theme. theme. theme.
Creativity The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation
elicited a high elicited a moderate elicited a degree did not impart any
degree of interest degree of interest of interest and clear information
and excitement and excitement from excitement from about the topic.
from the viewers, the audience, and the audience.
and loaded the loaded the Few information
presentation with a presentation with was loaded about
lot of information. just enough the topic.
information.
Organization The presentation is The presentation is The presentation The presentation
interesting, built up interesting, but built did not build up a was so
the theme in a up the theme in clear theme, and disorganized that
logical manner, left somewhat confusing did not state the the audience did
the audience with a manner, and left the purpose of the not understand
clear purpose to audience with presentation for what its theme
think about and act unclear purpose to the audience to and purpose was.
on it. think and talk about. think about.

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 References

Science 9 Learner’s Material/ Teacher’s Guide First Edition 2014

Science 9 Quarter 3 Week 5 LAS Sarangani Division
Science 9 Quarter 3 Module 4 Region lll SLM

SSLM Development Team

Writer: Melinda B. Rulona
Content Editor: Edilbert A. Reyes, Ph.D.
LR Evaluator: Gina B. Torrecampo, Rosalie P. Gillesania
Illustrator: Melinda B. Rulona
Creative Arts Designer: Reggie D. Galindez
Education Program Supervisor: Edilbert A. Reyes, Ph.D
Education Program Supervisor – Learning Resources: Sally A. Palomo
Curriculum Implementation Division Chief: Juliet F. Lastimosa
Asst. Schools Division Superintendent: Carlos G. Susarno, Ph. D.
Schools Division Superintendent: Romelito G. Flores, CESO V

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