Study Guide

Quick meanings for every word. Pair Tier 3 words with pictures to support newcomers.

Beginner ELL Core Idea

Heat moves air and water.
Heat moves from warm to cool.
Wind moves because air heats and cools.
Water moves because of heat and density.

Word	Meaning
Climate	The typical weather pattern of a region, measured over many years.
Precipitation	Water that falls from clouds to Earth's surface, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Temperature	A measure of how hot or cold something is.
Wind	Air that is moving, usually from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure.
Wind Chill Factor	A measure of how much colder moving air makes the temperature feel on skin, compared to the actual air temperature.
Anemometer	A tool used to measure how fast the wind is blowing.
Buoy	A floating device anchored in water that collects data like temperature and wave height.
Climograph	A graph that displays a location's average temperature and precipitation over the course of a year.
Composition	What something is made of — its parts or ingredients.
Coriolis Effect	The apparent curving of moving air and water, caused by Earth's rotation.
Current	A steady, flowing movement of water in a particular direction, often found in oceans.
Density	A measure of how much mass is packed into a given amount of space.
El Niño	A periodic warming of ocean water in the Pacific that disrupts normal weather patterns around the world.
Global Winds	Large wind patterns that move air consistently around the entire planet.
Gulf Stream	A powerful, warm ocean current that carries heat from the tropics up the eastern coast of North America.
Gyre	A large, circular system of ocean currents, formed by wind patterns and Earth's rotation.
Jet Stream	A narrow band of very fast-moving air found high in the atmosphere.
Land Breeze	A wind that blows from land toward the sea, usually forming at night as land cools faster than water.
Latitude	A measurement of how far north or south a location is from the equator.
Local Winds	Winds that form in a small area and often change direction during the day, caused by nearby differences in heating.
Pressure	The amount of force pushing on a given area — in the atmosphere, this comes from the weight of the air above.
Sea Breeze	A wind that blows from the sea toward land, usually forming during the day as land heats faster than water.
Thermal Energy	The total energy of moving particles within a substance — commonly experienced as heat.
Topography	The shape and features of the land's surface, including its hills, valleys, and elevation.
Salinity	A measure of how much salt is dissolved in water.
Upwelling	The rising of cold, nutrient-rich water from ocean depths to the surface.