Year 9 - Geography
Ice change over time
Ice and glaciers: How are cold places affected by a warming planet?
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit teaches pupils about the physical processes that influence cold places around the world and how areas of ice have changed over time due to climatic variations. Pupils will learn about the impact of global warming on glaciated areas and what this means for the future of our planet.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe the way that the global climate has changed over time and the extent of the British-Irish ice sheet.
Key Notes
- Earth has experienced periods of global warming and global cooling throughout its history.
- The last ice age ended around 19 000 years ago.
- The north of the UK and part of Ireland were covered in the British-Irish ice sheet.
Vocabulary To Learn
- climate: an average of weather conditions (e.g. rain, sun, wind) in a place taken over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more)
- ice sheet: a large mass of ice covering an area of over 50 000 square kilometres
- ice age: a period of time during which thick ice sheets covered vast areas of land
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- There has only been one ice age.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this geography topic using two clear key points.
Earth has experienced periods of global warming and global cooling throughout its history. The last ice age ended around 19 000 years ago.
2. Define this geography term and use it in an example. 'climate'
an average of weather conditions (e.g. rain, sun, wind) in a place taken over a long period of time (usually 30 years or more).
3. Correct this common geography misunderstanding.
Mistake: There has only been one ice age. Correction: There have been numerous periods of warming and cooling throughout Earth's history. This has meant there have been a number of ice ages throughout history.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Antarctic food webs Study Guide
- Antarctica: A frozen wilderness Study Guide
- Climate change in polar regions Study Guide
- Countries in the Arctic Study Guide
- Evidence of glaciation in the UK Study Guide
- Glacial landforms Study Guide
- Glacial processes Study Guide
- Glacier formation Study Guide
- Protecting Antarctica Study Guide
- The Arctic Tundra Study Guide
- The Mer De Glace Study Guide
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Geography guide library.