Chapter Six: Weather and
Climate
• 6.1 Introduction to Weather
• 6.2 Weather Patterns
• 6.3 Climates and Biomes
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Climate depends on
many factors:
– latitude,
– precipitation,
– elevation,
– topography, and
– distance from large
bodies of water.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Scientists divide the planet into climate
regions called biomes.
• Earth has six main biomes: deserts,
grasslands, temperate deciduous forests,
rainforests, taiga, and tundras.
• Each biome has a unique set of plants
and animals that thrive in its climate.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Each biome has a unique set of plants
and animals that thrive in its climate.
• The Serengeti is home to thousands of
predators species and 1.6 million herbivores.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• Humidity is related to
plant and animal
diversity.
• From the poles to the
equator, humidity and
the diversity of plants
and animal increases.
6.3 Biomes and climate
• At the equator, sunlight
is direct and intense.
• As a result, the
average yearly
temperature at the
equator is 27 °C (80
°F), while at the North
Pole it is -18 °C (0 °F).
6.3 Biomes and climate
•• Compare
the data
for Portland,
OR
The differences
in below
temperature
between
and
Minneapolis,
MN.
the two
cities have
to do with water.
•• IfWater
thesewarms
cities are
about
the down
same slowly.
latitude,
up and
cools
why don’t they have the same climate?
• Regions near water—like Portland—do
not have extremely hot or cold weather,
even though they are farther north.
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• A biome consists of
plant and animal
communities.
• The plants and
animals in a
community survive in
a shared environment.
Can you give an example
of an ecosystem in the
Research
an oasis to learn more!
desert biome?
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• What features of this
jackrabbit help it
survive in it’s desert
biome?
6.3 Plants and animals in biomes
• Within a biome, there are
many interrelated
ecosystems.
• An ecosystem is made up
of the plants and animals
that live there, plus
nonliving things like soil,
air, water, sunlight, and
nutrients.
Research Connection
Meteorologists Weather it All
• Dian and other
meteorologists use
many tools of their
trade.
• They gather
information in many
different ways.
Activity
Rainy Day Mystery
• Do some investigative meteorological work
to find out why the climates of these two
cities are so different.