AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.

Detailed explanation-2: -Water has a high specific heat, meaning it takes more energy to increase the temperature of water compared to other substances.

Detailed explanation-3: -Water warms up more slowly than air but can hold more heat – water needs 4 times as much energy to raise its temperature by 1ºC as the same mass of air does – so the ocean plays an important part in taking up energy from the Sun and stopping the Earth getting too hot.

Detailed explanation-4: -Water has a relatively high specific heat, or heat capacity, meaning it can absorb a lot of heat before its temperature rises. This trait helps it to stabilize temperature in its surroundings.