Unit 3: Variety is the Spice of Life – Biomes and Biodiversity
Reading Questions 4A
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Opening Story: Floods, Droughts, and Famines
Global processes determine weather and climate.
1. How can floods in one place and droughts in another be connected, such as in Kenya in 2003?
2. What is the difference between weather and climate?
3. What two factors primarily determine which organisms can live in an area?
There are 7 major components to the distribution of heat and precipitation (and thus climates) on Earth:
I.
Earth’s Atmosphere
4. Explain why atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases.
5. Identify which of the 5 layers of Earth’s atmosphere fit each description in the table:
Troposphere
Exosphere
Aurora Borealis (northern lights) occurs here
Atmospheric pressure is highest here
All weather occurs here
Atmospheric pressure is lowest here
Atmospheric temperatures are highest here
Contains the ozone layer
Layer closest to the surface
Densest layer of the atmosphere
Outermost layer of the atmosphere
Temperature is around 20° at this layer’s lowest point
The lowest pressure is found in this layer
6. The chemical formula for ozone is _______ and its function is to ______________________
II.
Unequal Heating of Earth
7. Explain how each of the following factors creates unequal heating of Earth’s surfaces:
a. Angle of sun to surface:
b. Solar rays per unit area:
c. Albedo:
8. How will the melting of polar ice from global warming alter Earth’s albedo?
9. Generally speaking, the _________ regions of Earth receive the most light/heat in a year and the
_________ regions receive the least light/heat in a year.
III.
Atmospheric Convection Currents
10. Explain why warm air rises and cool air sinks.
11. Why is rising air associated with precipitation?
12. What types of atmospheric conditions are found where air sinks back to the surface?
13. Draw each of the following on the diagram below:
 Earth’s atmospheric convection cells, with direction of air movement
 The general level of precipitation found at each latitude belt: 0/30/60/90)
14. Why does the ITCZ move throughout the year in a regular pattern?
IV.
Earth’s Rotation and the Coriolis Effect
15. The Coriolis Effect deflects moving objects (such as wind) in a ________ direction in the
northern hemisphere and a _____________ direction in the southern hemisphere
16. Draw arrows indicating the general direction of wind movement between latitudes :
V.
Earth’s Tilt and Seasons
17. In Los Angeles, the longest day of the year occurs in the month of ___________ because
__________________________________________________________________
18. Why does the northern hemisphere’s summer come during the southern hemisphere’s winter,
and vice versa?
VI.
Ocean Currents
19. What are gyers, and how are they created?
20. Explain how oceanic gyers and atmospheric convection currents redistribute heat around Earth.
21. Upwelling is a process in which _________________________ water is brought to the surface
along a coast. It is caused by ____________________________ and is important to humans
because _______________________________________________________.
22. Describe what thermohaline circulation is, and how it transports heat.
23. The ENSO is a disruption to _________________________________ in which warm water and
increased precipitation build up in the region of _________________________ while drought
and cold water occur in the region of _______________________________
VII.
Rain Shadows
24. What is the difference between the windward and the leeward sides of a mountain range?
VIII.
Summary
25. The Earth’s atmosphere and oceans can be thought of as a single “heat engine” system that
transfers heat around the globe. Explain how the atmospheric/oceanic system circulates heat,
including where heat is distributed from and to.
26. Summarize why latitude is so important in determining climate: