What shapes a place's climate: latitude, height, distance from the sea
Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Ari reads the table. Which place is closer to the equator?
- Portland, at 43.6° N
- They are the same distance away
- Key West, at 24.6° N
Using the table, which place has the warmer January, Bo?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Key West, at 21 °C (71 °F)
- Portland, as it is farther north
- Portland, at −4 °C (24 °F)
- Both about the same
Both places are on the coast near sea level. Which clue explains Key West's warmer climate, Esme?
Use the picture in question 1.
- Height: it is higher up
- Latitude: it is nearer the equator
- It is closer to the Sun
- It is farther inland
Read this first
Use this
Map with a key and a climate table (NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals), columns place, where it is, January average, July average: Phoenix, Arizona, 33.4° N, inland, 337 m above sea level, 14 °C (57 °F), 35 °C (96 °F); Flagstaff, Arizona, 35.1° N, inland, 2,135 m above sea level, −1 °C, below zero (31 °F), 19 °C (67 °F).
Which line explains why Flagstaff is cooler than Phoenix, Kira?
- Flagstaff is higher, so nearer the Sun
- Flagstaff is higher, where the air is colder
- Flagstaff is on the coast
- Flagstaff is much farther from the equator
In January, which place averages below zero, Luz?
- Neither place
- Phoenix, at 14 °C (57 °F)
- Phoenix, as lower places are colder
- Flagstaff, at −1 °C (31 °F)
Noah needs the word for a place's height above sea level. Which word is it?
- Longitude
- Latitude
- Precipitation
- Elevation
Pia reads: towns near the ocean have milder winters and summers than towns far inland. Which clue is that about?
- Elevation
- Longitude
- Distance from the sea
- Latitude
Use this
not to scale.
Side view of Earth and sunlight, not to scale. Parallel sunlight arrows come from the left. Spot A is at the equator: the rays hit straight on and light a small area. Spot B is near the North Pole: the same rays hit at a low slant and spread over a larger area. Side view of Earth and sunlight, not to scale. Parallel sunlight arrows come from the left. Spot A is at the equator: the rays hit straight on and light a small area. Spot B is near the North Pole: the same rays hit at a low slant and spread over a larger area. sunlight Spot A equator small area Spot B North Pole larger area Earth In the side view, which spot gets the most direct sunlight, Ren?
- Both spots get the same
- Spot B, near the North Pole
- Spot A, at the equator
The same sunlight reaches spot B, but spot B stays colder. Why is the light at spot B weaker, Tala?
Use the picture in question 8.
- Spot B gets no sunlight
- It is spread over a larger area
- Spot B gets a different color of light
- Spot B is farther from the Sun
Zee shines a flashlight straight down on paper, then tilts it. Which spot of light is like the equator?
- The wide, dim spot from the tilt
- Whichever spot is nearer the flashlight
- Neither, as a flashlight is too small
- The small, bright spot from straight down