Name:__________________________
Period:_______________
Date:________________
Go to the following website
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html
Answer the following questions from the first page called Biomes on this website.
1. What does climate consist of?
2. What is a biome?
3. Looking at the last paragraph and the map above, what biomes are in the United States?
Now click on “Arctic Tundra”
4. Where is the Tundra located?
5. Describe the climate of the tundra
-- Winters:
--Summers:
--Precipitation:
6. What is the unique characteristic of the tundra?
7. What is the “active layer”?
8. Why is it mostly dark for two months out of the year?
Now go to the yellow list on the right of the screen and click on “animals” under the Arctic Tundra
9. Name three mammals that are found in the tundra
10. Why is it difficult for animals to live there?
11. What are three adaptations that some animals use to be able to live in such an area for at least part of the
year.
Now go to the list on the right again and click on “plants” under Arctic Tundra.
12. Why is the tundra a difficult place for plants to grow?
13. Name three plant species that live there.
14. What does “tundra” mean in Finnish?
15. Why do plants there grow close together and low to the ground?
Now click on “Deciduous Forest” on the right side and in the yellow bar
16. Where is it located?
17. What contributes to the climate of this biome?
18. What are the seasons like?
19. What does “deciduous” mean?
Now click on “animals” under this biome and answer the following questions
20. What are five mammals found in this biome?
21. What animals used to be a part of this biome but are now extinct?
22. What are three ways animals have adapted to the changing environment in this biome?
Now click on “plants” under this biome and answer the following questions
23. What are the two main types of trees (not the examples)
24. What is the purpose of the broad leaves on trees?
25. Why do the leaves fall off in autumn?
Now click on “Desert”
26. What is the defining characteristic of the desert?
27. What is the range of rainfall in deserts?
28. Deserts can either be _____________ or ____________.
29. What does the climate depend on?
30. Where are coastal deserts located?
31. Where are semiarid deserts located?
Now click on “animals” under the desert biome
32. What are two mammals that live in the desert?
33. What are 3 ways animals have adapted to live in the harsh conditions of the desert?
34. What are salt glands good for?
35. Where is fat stored in desert animals?
Now click on “plants” under desert
36. What are four kinds of plants found in the desert?
37. What are three ways plants have adapted to save water?
38. Where do the plants store their water?
39. What are three types of adaptations to leaves that help them save water when they release CO2?
Now click on “Taiga”
40. What northern countries is the taiga located in?
41. What is the weather like in the winter and the summer?
42. What is the precipitation like?
43. Why are there so many ponds and bogs?
43. Describe the soil in the taiga.
Now click on “animals” under the Taiga
44. What are three large animals that live in this biome?
45. What are three small animals found here?
46. Why are there so many insects?
47. Describe three adaptations that animals have in the taiga.
48. How does the ermine adapt to change in seasons and how does this adaptation help them?
Now click on “plants” under taiga
49. What is the most common type of tree?
50. What are the four plant adaptations?
51. Why don’t the conifer trees lose their leaves?
52. Why are the needle-like leaves helpful with preventing water loss?
Now click on “Tropical Rain Forest”
53. Describe what the rainforest is like and where it’s generally located
54. What countries are the largest rainforests located in?
55. Because of the moisture and warmth the rainforests have the greatest _______________________ in the
world with over _________________ species!
56. The warm moist climate helps bacteria and other microorganisms grow which helps the soil with nutrients,
how do they help?
57. Why is the soil still not very nutritious for plants (infertile)?
Now click on “animals” under tropical rain forest
58. What are the six animals given as examples?
59. Why do so many animals never set foot on the ground?
60. Describe the two adaptations that some animals have to either get food or escape detection by predators
Now click on “plants” under tropical rain forests
61. Why does 2% of the abundant sunlight hardly reach the ground?
62. In what areas does the sunlight reach the ground in the rainforests?
63. Why is it so tough for plants to grow in the rainforest?
64. How has the strangler fig adapted?
65. How does it kill the host tree?
Now click on “Tropical Savannah” (we will just call it savannah)
66. What is this biome characterized by?
67. What are the seven countries (regions) where the savannah is found?
68. What are the summers and winters like in this biome?
69. What keeps this biome from being categorized as tropical rainforests?
70. How can savannahs be formed?
71. How do humans and elephants create savannahs?
Now click on “animals” under tropical savannahs
72. List 7 of the 14 animals listed as examples of the African savannah.
73. What do the animals do to live through the dry season?
74. How have the elephants adapted to the drought periods besides migrating?
75. How have small mammals adapted to the dry season?
76. Most animals have adapted to the fire season by fleeing or burrowing underground, why are the Fork-tailed
Drongos birds attracted to the fires?
Now click on “plants” under this biome
77. What is the dominant plant life in this biome?
78. Why aren’t savannahs considered prairies?
79. What are the three main adaptations that grasses have in this biome?
80. Where does the baobab tree store excess water?
81. Where does the acacia tree store water?
82. Explain the symbiotic relationship between the acacia tree and stinging ants. AND how do both species
benefit from this relationship?
83. Explain the chemical defense of the acacia tree that keeps giraffes from eating it much.
YAY!!! YOU’RE DONE!