Sun-Driven Weather Systems
Science · Weather & Climate · conceptual
Understand how the Sun drives weather: the Sun heats Earth's surface unevenly (land heats faster than water, equator gets more heat than poles), creating differences in air pressure that cause wind patterns, ocean currents, and large-scale weather systems
What mastery looks like
- Explain that the Sun heats land and water at different rates
- Describe how temperature differences create air pressure differences that drive wind
- Connect uneven heating to large-scale weather patterns
Check your understanding
Can Sun-Driven Weather Systems explain why coastal areas often have sea breezes and why the equator is hotter than the poles, connecting it all back to the Sun heating Earth unevenly?
Prerequisites
Required first
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