REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Global climate change affects:

o

Temperature
Temperature is an objective comparative measure of hot or cold. It is measured
by a thermometer, which may work through the bulk behavior of a thermometric material,
detection of thermal radiation, or particle kinetic energy. Several scales and units exist
for measuring temperature, the most common being Celsius (denoted C; formerly
called centigrade), Fahrenheit (denoted F), and, especially in science, Kelvin (denoted
K).
The coldest theoretical temperature is absolute zero, at which the thermal
motion in matter would be zero. However, an actual physical system or object can never
attain a temperature of absolute zero. Absolute zero is denoted as 0 K on the Kelvin
scale, 273.15 C on the Celsius scale, and 459.67 F on the Fahrenheit scale.
The kinetic theory offers a valuable but limited account of the behavior of the
materials of macroscopic systems. It indicates the absolute temperature as proportional
to the average kinetic energy of the random microscopic motions of their constituent
microscopic particles such as electrons, atoms, and molecules.
Temperature is important in all fields of natural science, including physics,
geology, chemistry, atmospheric sciences, medicine, and biologyas well as most
aspects of daily life.

Sea Level
Sea level is generally used to refer to mean sea level (MSL), an average level
for the surface of one or more of Earth's oceans from which heights such as
elevations may be measured. MSL is a type of vertical datum a standardized geodetic
reference point that is used, for example, as a chart datum in cartography and marine
navigation, or, in aviation, as the standard sea level at which atmospheric pressure is
measured in order to calibrate altitude and, consequently, aircraft flight levels. A common
and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a mean
low and mean high tide at a particular location.

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Sea levels can be affected by many factors and are known to have varied greatly
over geological time scales. The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer
insights into ongoing climate change, and the current rise in sea levels has been widely
quoted as proof of ongoing global warming.
The term above sea level generally refers actually to above mean sea
level (AMSL).
o

Precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation
of atmospheric water vapour that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation
include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel and hail. Precipitation occurs when a portion of
the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapour, so that the water condenses and
"precipitates". Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions because the
water vapour does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly
acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated: cooling the air or adding water
vapour to the air. Generally, precipitation will fall to the surface; an exception
is virga which evaporates before reaching the surface. Precipitation forms as smaller
droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Rain
drops range in size from oblate, pancake-like shapes for larger drops, to small spheres
for smaller drops. Unlike raindrops, snowflakes grow in a variety of different shapes and
patterns, determined by the temperature and humidity characteristics of the air the
snowflake moves through on its way to the ground. While snow and ice pellets require
temperatures close to the ground to be near or below freezing, hail can occur during
much warmer temperature regimes due to the process of its formation.
Moisture overriding associated with weather fronts is an overall major method of
precipitation production. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation
falls from convective clouds such as cumulonimbus and can organize into narrow rain
bands. Where relatively warm water bodies are present, for example due to water
evaporation from lakes, lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm
lakes within the cold cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones. Lakeeffect snowfall can be locally heavy. Thunder snow is possible within a cyclone's comma

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy
precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the
terrain at elevation. On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to
the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the monsoon trough,
orinter tropical convergence zone, brings rainy seasons to savannah climes.
Precipitation is a major component of the water cycle, and is responsible for
depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres
(121,000 cu mi) of water falls as precipitation each year; 398,000 cubic kilometres
(95,000 cu mi) of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres (26,000 cu mi) over
land.[2] Given the Earth's surface area, that means the globally averaged annual
precipitation is 990 millimetres (39 in), but over land it is only 715 millimetres (28.1 in).
Climate classification systems such as the Kppen climate classification system use
average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes.
The urban heat island effect may lead to increased rainfall, both in amounts and
intensity, downwind of cities. Global warming is also causing changes in the precipitation
pattern globally.
Precipitation may occur on other celestial bodies, e.g. when it gets cold, Mars
has precipitation which most likely takes the form of ice needles, rather than rain or
snow.
Effects:
o

Storms and Flooding

A storm surge is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water
commonly associated with low pressure weather systems (such as tropical cyclones and
strong extra tropical cyclones), the severity of which is affected by the shallowness and
orientation of the water body relative to storm path, and the timing of tides. Most
casualties during tropical cyclones occur as the result of storm surges.
The two main meteorological factors contributing to a storm surge are a long
fetch of winds spiraling inward toward the storm, and a low-pressure-induced dome of

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

water drawn up under and trailing the storm's center. The second effect is responsible
for destructive meteotsunamis associated with the most intense tropical systems.
A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture
Evidence of heavier rainfall in the past is limited, but growing
Attributing specific events to climate change is tricky, and flooding is
no exception

Scientists predict that heavy rainfall will increase in the future

Flooding isn't just about rainfall; other human factors contribute too
Rising sea level inundates low-lying areas, converts wetlands to open water,
erodes beaches, exacerbates flooding, and increases the salinity of estuaries and
aquifers.
Sea level rise can exacerbate all of the causes of coastal flooding.

During hurricanes and severe northeasters, intense winds and low

pressure cause water to pile up higher than normal; causing what is
known as a storm surge. These surges are generally the source of the
worst flooding. Rising sea level provides a higher base upon which storm
surges build, and thereby increases the risk of severe flooding. Moreover,
loss of wetlands from sea level rise can remove a storm surge buffer.

Along the ocean coast, storm waves can destroy homes even if they are
elevated above the storm water level. Sea level rise increases the risk of
damaging storm waves for two reasons: the higher water level provides a
higher base for the waves so they are able to strike structures that might
otherwise be elevated above the waves; and shore erosion causes by
sea level rise allows the waves to strike farther inland

Extreme high tides during new and full moons can flood areas that are
above the normal high tide. Rising sea level elevates all of the tides,
allowing spring tide flooding to reach farther inland.

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Low-lying coastal areas often flood during severe thunderstorms because

they drain very slowly. Rising sea level further slows the rate at which lowlying areas flood.

Heat
In physics, heat is energy in transfer other than as work or by transfer of matter.
When there is a suitable physical pathway, heat flows from a hotter body to a colder one.
The transfer results in a net increase in entropy. The pathway can be direct, as
in conduction and radiation, or indirect, as in convective circulation.
Heat refers to a process of transfer between two systems, the system of interest,
and its surroundings considered as a system, not to a state or property of a single
system. If heat transfer is slow and continuous, so that the temperature of the system of
interest remains well defined, it can be described by a process function.
Kinetic theory explains heat as a macroscopic manifestation of the motions and
interactions of microscopic constituents such as molecules and photons.
In calorimetry, sensible heat is defined with respect to a particular state
variable of the system; it causes change of temperature, leaving that particular state
variable unchanged. Heat transfer that occurs with the system at constant temperature
and that changes that particular state variable is called latent heat with respect to that
variable. For infinitesimal changes, the total incremental heat transfer is then the sum of
the latent and sensible heat increments. This is a basic paradigm for thermodynamics,
and was important in the historical development of the subject.
The quantity of energy transferred as heat is a scalar expressed in an energy unit
such as the joule (J) (SI), with a sign that is customarily positive when a transfer adds to
the energy of a system. It can be measured by calorimetry, or determined by
calculations based on other quantities, relying on the first law of thermodynamics.
Heat energy is most intense in substances whose molecules are moving rapidly
in a very disorderly way. Such a substance will give up some of its heat to another
substance whose molecules are less agitated. When this happens, the heat is said to

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

flow from one substance to another (or from one body to another). The energy transfer
is indicated by a change in temperature.
Temperature, therefore, is not the same thing as heatalthough the two words
are often used interchangeably. Temperature can be defined as the degree of intensity of
hotness or coldness. Hotness and coldness, however, are comparative terms. A
flame, for example, is hot when compared with ice but cold when compared with the sun.
This definition of temperature, therefore, is vague and unscientific, although it does
convey the correct impression that temperature is a measure of relative intensity rather
than of quantity.
A more specific definition is: temperature is the ability of one body to give up heat
energy to another body. A hot body becomes cooler, and a cold body becomes warmer,
as long as heat is flowing from one to the other. The hot body has a greater ability to
give up heat and therefore has a higher temperature. After a time the two bodies may
reach a condition of heat equilibrium, or balance of heat intensity. Then, heat flow
ceases. At the point of equilibrium both bodies can be said to be at the same
temperature.
Measurement of Temperature
Absolute Zero
High Temperatures
Measurement of Heat
Sea level rise reveals a lot about our changing climate. A rise in the mean sea
level can be caused by decreases in ocean density, mostly reflecting an increase in
ocean temperature this is steric sea level rise. It can also be caused by an increase in
ocean mass, reflecting a gain of fresh water from land. A third, and smaller, contribution
to mean sea level is from glacial isotactic adjustment. The contribution of glacial isotactic
adjustment, while small, has a range of possible values and can be a significant source
of uncertainty in sea level budgets. Over recent decades, very roughly half of the
observed mean sea level rise is owing to changes in ocean density with the other half

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

owing to the increased in ocean mass, mostly from melting glaciers and polar ice sheets.
The exact proportion has been difficult to pin down with great certainty.
Precipitation hardening, also called age hardening, is a heat treatment
technique used to increase the yield strength of malleable materials, including most
structural alloys of aluminum, magnesium, nickel, titanium, and some stainless steels. In
super alloys, it is known to cause yield strength anomaly providing excellent hightemperature strength.
Precipitation hardening relies on changes in solid solubility with temperature to
produce fine particles of an impurity phase, which impede the movement of dislocations,
or defects in a crystal's lattice. Since dislocations are often the dominant carriers
of plasticity, this serves to harden the material. The impurities play the same role as the
particle substances in particle-reinforced composite materials. Just as the formation of
ice in air can produce clouds, snow, or hail, depending upon the thermal history of a
given portion of the atmosphere, precipitation in solids can produce many different sizes
of particles, which have radically different properties. Unlike ordinary tempering, alloys
must be kept at elevated temperature for hours to allow precipitation to take place. This
time delay is called "aging". Solution treatment and aging is sometimes abbreviated
"STA" in metals specs and certs.
Note that two different heat treatments involving precipitates can alter the
strength of a material: solution heat treating and precipitation heat treating. Solid solution
strengthening involves formation of a single-phase solid solution via quenching.
Precipitation heat treating involves the addition of impurity particles to increase a
material's strength.
o

Vector Biology
In molecular cloning, a vector is a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to artificially
carry foreign genetic material into another cell, where it can be replicated and/or
expressed. A vector containing foreign DNA is termed recombinant DNA. The four major
types of vectors are plasmids, viral vectors, cosmids, and artificial chromosomes. Of
these, the most commonly used vectors are plasmids. Common to all engineered
vectors are an origin of replication, a multi cloning site, and a selectable marker.

ASSIGNMENT #3

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

The vector itself is generally a DNA sequence that consists of an insert

(transgene) and a larger sequence that serves as the "backbone" of the vector. The
purpose of a vector which transfers genetic information to another cell is typically to
isolate, multiply, or express the insert in the target cell. Vectors called expression
vectors (expression constructs) specifically are for the expression of the transgene in the
target cell, and generally have a promoter sequence that drives expression of the
transgene. Simpler vectors called transcription vectors are only capable of being
transcribed but not translated: they can be replicated in a target cell but not expressed,
unlike expression vectors. Transcription vectors are used to amplify their insert.
Insertion of a vector into the target cell is usually called transformation for
bacterial cells, transfection for eukaryotic cells, although insertion of a viral vector is
often called transduction.
o

Air Pollutants
Air pollution is the introduction of particulates, biological molecules, or other
harmful materials into Earth's atmosphere, causing disease, death to humans, damage
to other living organisms such as food crops, or the natural or built environment. Air
pollution may come from anthropogenic or natural sources.
The atmosphere is a complex natural gaseous system that is essential to support
life on planet Earth. Stratospheric ozone depletion due to air pollution has been
recognized as a threat to human health as well as to the Earth's ecosystems.

Food Supply
Food supply, however, is not only a function of production, but also of energy
efficiency. Food energy efficiency is our ability to minimize the loss of energy in food
from harvest potential through processing to actual consumption and recycling. By
optimizing this chain, food supply can increase with much less damage to the
environment, similar to improvements in efficiency in the traditional energy sector.
However, unlike the traditional energy sector, food energy efficiency has received little
attention.

Civil Conflict
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state or
country, or, less commonly, between two countries created from formerly united

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

states. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve
independence for a region or to change government policies. The term is a calque of the
Latin bellum civile which was used to refer to the various civil wars of the Roman
Republic in the 1st century BC.
A civil war is a high-intensity conflict, often involving regular armed forces, that is
sustained, organized and large-scale. Civil wars may result in large numbers
of casualties and the consumption of significant resources.

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