Wilma recently migrated to Washington, DC in the United States on October 31st last year. She is originally from Manila, Philippines. She knows that come November, it’s already fall season in the USA which means it would be cold. What she finds fascinating is when she’s taking a walk around noon time to look for a fast food chain in the city, the sun was never positioned directly overhead as she can see from her shadow. The sun seems to be just above the horizon. On the other hand, when she was in Manila on the same month of the year and the same time of the day, the sun would be directly above her and it would feel hot outside. Which statement best explains Wilma’s observation about factors that determine the climate of a place?
I. The amount of solar energy a particular location receives is the most important factor in determining that location’s temperature.
II. The lower the latitude, the more sunlight an area will receive. At the equator, days are equally long year-round and the sun is just about directly overhead at midday.
III. The tropics are warmer than the temperate regions. The polar areas are in between, both in latitude and average air temperature.
IV. The amount of sunlight that strikes the ground is different at each latitude.
