7th grade science 4 Flashcards
Climate
Pattern of weather that occurs in an area over many years
Polar zone
Climate zone that gets the least solar radiation and is never warm
Temperate zone
Climate with moderate temperatures that is located between the tropics and the polar zone
Tropics
Climate zones that get the most solar radiation and are always hot, except at high elevations
Adaptation
Any structural or behavioral change that helps an organism survive in its particular environment
Hibernation
Behavioral adaptation for winter survival in which an animal’s activity is greatly reduced, it’s body temperature drops, and it’s body processes slow down
Deforestation
Destruction or cutting down large numbers of trees
El Niño
Climatic event that begins in the tropical Pacific Ocean and can disrupt normal temperature and precipitation patterns around the world.
Greenhouse effect
Natural process that occurs when certain gases in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat near the surface
Global warming
Increase in the average global temperature of Earth
Season
Short period of climatic change caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as Earth revolves around the Sun
Axis
Imaginary line around which Earth spins, drawn from the north geographic pole through Earth to the south geographic pole
Equinox
Twice yearly time when the Sun is directly above the Earth’s equator and there are equal hours of day and night
Orbit
A curved path followed by Earth as it moves around the Sun
Revolution
The motion of the Earth around the Sun, which takes about 365 1/4 days or one year, to complete
