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By: Camila Naranjo. 8C

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Table of Contents

1)Sun is the reason for: Pg. 3

Ocean currents Pg.3

Plant growth Pg.4

Water cycle Pg. 4-5

Wind Pg.6

2) The four incredible seasons Pg.7

3) Energy in the atmosphere Pg.8

4) Work Cited Pg.9-10

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Is the reason for: Ocean currents, plant growth,

water cycle and wind

Ocean currents: Currents exist in all the oceans. Some oceans have two or

more currents that flow in different directions. All ocean

currents depend on the SUN, but not only on that, it also

depends on the rotation of the Earth.

The sun affects the ocean in two ways:

1) The suns heat the atmosphere

creating winds and moving the water

surface with friction. Even though wind

affects the surface layer, it doesn’t

affects too much below 100 in depth.

2) Sun affects oceans´ temperature

and salinity. Oceans become denser

when it is cooled or if it becomes saltier

through evaporation. Tis can cause the

ocean to be unstable because currents

depend on density (thermohaline circulation).

The rotation of Earth is also something that oceans depend on. It

affects it through the Coriolis force. This is when water move to

the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the

Southern Hemisphere. Moving ocean water exists because of

friction. Water is moving as the same speed of Earth.

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Plant Growth:

Sun is very important in plant growth because it gives every

plant light and light gives

food and energy through

photosynthesis. Plants

depend on light because it

provides plant to grow,

quick production, to have

nutrients; to generate food,

induce the growing cycle

and it also allows the plant

healthy development.

Thanks to plant we have

green and good plants.

* Photosynthesis: process of converting carbon dioxide into organic compounds using energy from sunlight.

Carbon dioxide is essential in plant because is what help it

generate food and to release oxygen into the atmosphere. This is

helpful for us because when plants release oxygen into the

atmosphere, it feeds all other life on our planet.

Water Cycle: Sun affects water because it warms the oceans in hot

places and it cools the water in cold places. So because of this

ocean currents move warm and cold water and this affects

weather and climate. Sun also helps water cycle because, moves

water vapor through the atmosphere every year.

Water cycle steps:

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1. The sun heat oceans or lakes making molecules of water

exciting and the more the sun excites molecules the faster

the move or evaporate.

2. Then, water vapor occur that is when molecules rose

through the atmosphere. Plants add water vapor through

photosynthesis.

3. Clouds are made. They form when the higher the water

vapor rises the cooler it gets, so they slow down and stick

together creating clouds. Clouds can warm or cool the

surface depending how thick and high they are.

4. Droplets combined inside the clouds and when they are

very big and heavy they fall (rain or snow depending on

the temperature of each)

5. Fall into the ground becoming a lake or river again that

will lead them to an ocean. Or it can soaks into soil,

feeding plants and joining the ground water.

If we wouldn’t have sun then the water would not evaporate and

the water cycle will not exist. We would not have clouds, rain,

weather, oxygen, liquid water or seasons. The Earth will be

entire frozen!

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Wind: Wind is the movement of air that moves from an area of higher

pressure to an area of lower pressure. When wind is created it

flows in different

directions. It depends a

lot in the sun because

it is what makes air

heat up because of

solar radiations. When

it heats it causes warm

air to rises because it

become lighter. In the

other hand, cold air is

heavier so it falls on

top of warm air causing pressure. Because of the difference

between pressure and air, it causes to become wind.

Pressure is caused by unequal heating o the atmosphere.

Wind is measured with an anemometer.

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The four season (wind, spring, summer, fall) are cause by the tilt

of the earth´s axis that

is perpendicular.

Summer is warmer

than winter because

the sunrays hits more

directly the earth and

in winter it don’t. A

solstice is when the

sun gets to its farthest

northern and farthest

declinations. Summer

solstice is on June 21

and it means is the begging of summer and

December 21 or 22 is winter´s solstice and it´s

the beginning of winter. Equinoxes are days

when day and night is the same have equal

duration. This occurs when the sun crosses

the celestial equator.

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All energy in the Earth´s atmosphere comes from the sun

and the energy travels to earth as electromagnetic waves.

This cause: radiation, infrared radiation, ultraviolet

radiation and green house effect. The effects that

particles and gases can make to affect the light and

radiation are cause by mechanism of scattering and

absorption. Scattering is when particles or gas molecules

affect an electromagnetic radiation and it sent it from it´s

original path. When energy reaches the atmosphere there

are two possibilities. First, that the substance absorbs the

energy or that

the energy is

reflected.

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Work Cited

"EARTH'S Seasons - Zoom Astronomy." EARTH'S Seasons -

Zoom Astronomy. Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/planets

/earth/Seasons.shtml>.

"What Causes the Seasons?" HowStuffWorks. Web. 23 May

2012. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-

weather/atmospheric/question165.htm>.

"Interactions with the Atmosphere." Welcome to Natural

Resources Canada. Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/geography-

boundary/remote-sensing/fundamentals/1491>.

"Water Encyclopedia." Ocean Currents. Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Mi-Oc/Ocean-

Currents.html>.

Smestad, Abigail. "The Effect of Light on Plant Growth."

EHow. Demand Media, 31 July 2009. Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://www.ehow.com/about_5251025_effect-light-plant-

growth.html>.

HowStuffWorks. Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophy

sics/earth4.htm>.

"What Causes Wind?" What Causes Wind? Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://www.weatherquestions.com/What_causes_wind.htm>.

"Ocean Currents - Geography For Kids - By KidsGeo.com."

Ocean Currents - Geography For Kids - By KidsGeo.com. Web.

23 May 2012. <http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-

kids/0145-ocean-currents.php>.

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"Global Wind Patterns." Global Wind Patterns. Web. 23 May

2012. <http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/global.html>.

"Allianz." What Is The Greenhouse Effect? Web. 23 May 2012.

<http://knowledge.allianz.com/climate/science/?126/climate-

change-global-warming-what-is-greenhouse-effect>.