Ch. 6 Key Terms

Question 1

biome

Answer 1

A large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animal communities.

Question 2

climate

Answer 2

Weather conditions, such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, and winds, in an area over a long period of time.

Question 3

latitude

Answer 3

The distance north or south of the equator and is measured in degrees.

Question 4

altitude

Answer 4

The height of an object above sea level.

Question 5

tropical rain forest

Answer 5

Located in a belt around the Earth near the equator.

Question 6

emergent layer

Answer 6

The top layer of the rain forest.

Question 7

canopy

Answer 7

The primary layer of the rain forest.

Question 8

epiphyte

Answer 8

Plants that use the entire surface of a tree as a place to live.

Question 9

understory

Answer 9

Below the canopy where very little light reaches.

Question 10

temperate rain forest

Answer 10

Rain forests with large amounts of precipitation, high humidity, and moderate temperatures.

Question 11

temperature deciduous forest

Answer 11

Trees drop their broad, flat leaves each fall

Question 12

taiga

Answer 12

Northern coniferous forest that stretches in a broad band across the Northern Hemisphere just below the Arctic Circle.

Question 13

savanna

Answer 13

Located in tropical and subtropical areas near the equator and between tropical rain forest and desert biomes.

Question 14

temperate grassland

Answer 14

A biome that is dominated by grasses and that has very few trees.

Question 15

chaparral

Answer 15

Type of temperate woodland biome that is dominated by more broad-leafed evergreen shrubs than by evergreen trees.

Question 16

desert

Answer 16

Areas that receive less that 25 cm of precipitation a year and have little or no vegetation.

Question 17

tundra

Answer 17

Biome that is dominated by grasses, lichens, and herbs and is located primarily north of the Arctic Circle.

Question 18

permafrost

Answer 18

Permanently frozen soil.