Introduction

The weather and climate of our neighboring planets is a bit different from the weather and climate of Earth. On Venus it is so hot that it could melt lead, and the thunderstorms never end. On Jupiter a giant hurricane is raging; the storm is three times bigger than the entire earth and it has lasted for hundreds of years, with no end in sight. Mercury experiences variable weather; its daytime temperatures are about 1080° F warmer than its nighttime temperatures. As you can see, the weather and climate on Earth are quite moderate in comparison; nevertheless, the variations in Earth's climate have a tremendous impact on our lives.

Do you know the difference between the terms “weather” and “climate”? Let's define them.

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. When we want to know what the weather is going to be like, we are wondering if a place will be hot or cold and whether it is going to rain or snow during a specific time.

Climate is the average weather conditions over an extended period of years in a specific place.

Here is an example of how we would use the terms. The climate in Florida is warm and humid, but last week the weather in Florida was cold.

In the last lesson we learned about the earth's four spheres. Atmosphere is the sphere that we tend to associate with climate and weather. However, all four spheres interact to create the climate and weather of any location. A change in any one of the spheres can impact the weather and even the climate of a location, and this lesson will discuss this impact, as well as the resulting effect on human settlement patterns.

• Objective 1:  Describe ways the atmosphere impacts the climate and weather.
• Objective 2:  Describe ways the hydrosphere impacts the climate and weather.
• Objective 3:  Describe ways the lithosphere impacts the climate and weather.
• Objective 4:  Describe ways the biosphere impacts the climate and weather.
• Objective 5:  Identify climate types.
• Objective 6:  Compare the impact of weather on human settlement patterns.
• Objective 7:  Create and interpret maps.
• Objective 8:  Identify Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nebraska on a map.

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