Final answer:
San Francisco experiences milder temperatures compared to Sacramento because of the heat inertia of water, which absorbs and releases heat slowly. The ocean moderates temperature variations, leading to warmer winters and cooler summers in San Francisco. Option a) Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than land is the correct answer.
Step-by-step explanation:
In winter, it is often warmer in San Francisco than in Sacramento, which is 150 km inland. During summer, it tends to be hotter in Sacramento. This difference in temperature can be attributed to the moderating influence of bodies of water surrounding San Francisco. Water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than land due to its high heat capacity. This means that during the summer, the ocean absorbs heat, which prevents the coastal areas from heating up as quickly as inland areas. Conversely, during the winter, the water slowly releases the stored heat, keeping the coastal regions warmer.
Option (a), which states that water absorbs and releases heat more slowly than land, explains how temperatures in coastal cities like San Francisco are moderated. Unlike Sacramento, which has a more continental climate and experiences greater extremes in temperatures due to its inland location, San Francisco benefits from the heat inertia of water. This leads to milder winters and cooler summers compared to places that are further from large bodies of water.