Lesson Y9-U03-L02

Y9-U03-L02 Global Atmospheric Circulation Quiz: KS3 Geography, Unit 15

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y9-U03-L02, Global Atmospheric Circulation: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Geography (National Curriculum), Unit 15: Year 9: Weather, Climate and a Changing Atmosphere, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Why does the Equator receive more heat than the poles?

    • The Equator is closer to the Sun than the poles are at all times.
    • The Equator has more clouds, which trap the heat from the Sun.
    • The Sun's rays hit the Equator more directly, so the energy is concentrated.
    • The poles are covered by oceans that reflect all the heat away.

  2. Which way does warm air move, and why?

    • It stays still at the surface until the wind moves it.
    • It sinks, because it is heavier than cooler air.
    • It moves sideways only, never up or down.
    • It rises, because it is less dense than cooler air.

  3. Rising air at the Equator causes which type of pressure?

    • Very high pressure, which brings strong winds to the poles.
    • High pressure, which brings clear and dry skies.
    • Neutral pressure, which brings no weather at all.
    • Low pressure, which brings cloud and heavy rain.

  4. Sinking air at about 30 degrees north brings which kind of weather?

    • Heavy rain and thick cloud on most days.
    • Clear, dry skies with very little rain.
    • Thunderstorms and strong winds every afternoon.
    • Snow and freezing temperatures all year round.

  5. Which cell lies directly over the Equator?

    • The Ferrel cell.
    • The polar cell.
    • The trade cell.
    • The Hadley cell.

  6. What does insolation mean?

    • The layer of gases that traps heat around the planet.
    • The water vapour that condenses to make clouds.
    • The energy from the Sun that reaches the Earth's surface.
    • The movement of air between the poles and the Equator.

  7. According to the bar chart, which latitude is the wettest?

    • 15 N, at about 1,100 mm a year, mostly falling during a short wet season.
    • 60 N, at about 500 mm a year.
    • 0 degrees (the Equator), at about 2,200 mm a year.
    • 30 N, at about 150 mm a year.

  8. Which latitude is the driest on the bar chart, and why?

    • 0 degrees, because rising air creates clear and dry skies.
    • 60 N, because strong winds blow all the rain away from it.
    • 30 N, because sinking air creates high pressure and clear skies.
    • 45 N, because cold air rises and brings heavy snow there.

  9. What are the steady surface winds in the tropics called?

    • The trade winds.
    • The jet streams.
    • The sea breezes.
    • The polar easterlies.

  10. Due to the Earth's spin, which directions do the tropical trade winds blow from?

    • The west, straight towards the poles.
    • The north-east and the south-east.
    • The south-west, across the middle of Europe.
    • Straight up from the sea into the sky.

  11. Why is the Sahara hot and dry?

    • Thick cloud traps heat over the desert all year round.
    • Sinking air near 30 N gives high pressure, clear skies and little rain.
    • Rising air at the Equator carries all the moisture away from the Sahara.
    • Strong trade winds blow in from the poles, bringing snow to the desert.

  12. Which location best matches rising air with heavy rain for most of the year?

    • The Amazon rainforest, lying on the Equator.
    • The Sahara Desert, lying near 30 degrees north.
    • The polar ice sheet, lying near the North Pole.
    • The Australian outback, lying near 30 degrees south.

  13. Why do the great rainforests sit on the Equator rather than near 30 degrees?

    • The Equator has no wind at all, so moisture cannot escape.
    • Air sinks there, creating high pressure and clear, dry skies.
    • Cold air from the poles is pushed down onto the Equator's forests.
    • Air rises there, creating low pressure, cloud and heavy rain.

  14. In a circulation diagram, which surface movement completes the loop from 30 degrees back towards the Equator?

    • Air sinking straight down onto the Equator itself.
    • The trade winds blowing back towards the rising air.
    • Jet streams blowing across the ocean high up in the air.
    • Polar winds blowing straight out over the open sea.

  15. Why did sailing ships crossing the Atlantic rely on the trade winds?

    • Steady surface winds carried them from Europe towards the Caribbean.
    • Trade winds blow only in winter, so ships avoided them each year.
    • Trade winds bring thick fog that hides the ship's route.
    • Trade winds blow ships straight up to the poles.

  16. Which rule links rising and sinking air to the weather they bring?

    • Rising air gives high pressure and dry weather; sinking air gives low pressure.
    • Pressure has no link with whether air is rising or sinking.
    • Rising air gives low pressure and wet weather; sinking air gives high pressure and dry weather.
    • Rising and sinking air both give the same pressure and the same weather.

  17. The Equator bar is about 2,200 mm and the 30 N bar is about 150 mm. Roughly how many times more rain falls at the Equator?

    • About 2 times more.
    • About 150 times more.
    • About 15 times more.
    • About 7 times more.

  18. Which statement best evaluates the cause of the world's hot desert belts?

    • Deserts have no link with air movement, only with the depth of the ocean.
    • All deserts form on the Equator because the Sun is strongest there, so air rises and dries out completely.
    • Deserts form only because people cut down trees, and nothing else matters.
    • Circulation mainly explains the belts, though local factors such as distance from the sea can change them.

  19. Why might a warmer Earth change the position of the desert belts?

    • Warmer air always sinks, so deserts would vanish from the whole planet.
    • A warmer Earth would stop air from ever moving around the planet.
    • Warming would move the Equator so that rainforests disappear completely.
    • A wider Hadley cell could push the dry, sinking air further towards the poles.

  20. Which sentence best explains why both the biggest rainforests and the biggest hot deserts follow lines of latitude?

    • Each country draws its own lines of latitude to plan its rainforests and deserts.
    • Air movement is driven by uneven solar heating, which depends on latitude rather than country borders.
    • Lines of latitude are created by the trade winds that blow in a loop across the land and sea.
    • Rainforests and deserts follow borders because people chose where to place them.

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