Latitude measures distance from the equator. The Equator is 0 degrees latitude. The
Tropic Cancer is 23.5 degrees north latitude. The Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5 degrees
south latitude. Use the biome picture below or find one on the internet that shows
the latitude lines of the Earth.
On the next page you will find questions that will help you think through ideas about the seasons, the
tropics, the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. These things effect the weather and partially explain why
the Earth’s biomes are located in the places where they are found on the Earth.
Use the internet to research the answers to the questions. Type the answers below the questions.
Save the document in you Natural Science folder on your desk top.
1. Where on the Earth are the warmer biomes located? Between what latitude lines?
Answer:
2. Is there a relationship between the shape of the Earth and the distance from the
Equator?
Which is closer to the sun, the Equator or the Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn latitudes?
Answer:
3. It takes 1 year for the Earth to rotate around the sun. What causes the seasons
of the Earth?
Answer:
4. Describe and/or explain why the seasons north of the Equator and south of the
Equator are “opposite.”
Answer:
5. Why are the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn important latitudes on
the Earth? Hint: it represents something.
Answer:
6. Between which latitudes do the tropics lie? Can you find information to explain why
these regions are warmer?
Answer:
7. What latitudes are the Arctic and Antarctic Circles?
Answer: