Chapter 13.3.1 Flashcards
How are biomes controlled?
Biomes are controlled by climate.
How is climate influenced?
Factors such as the distance from the equator, altitude and distance from the sea, the direction of prevailing winds, and the location of mountain ranges. These play a key role in determining a region’s climate and soil, which ultimately influence which plants and animals will inhabit it.
What do temperature and rainfall affect?
Temperature and rainfall determine which plant and animal species can survive in a particular biome.
What is latitude?
The angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the Earth’s surface
How does landform influence climate?
The major geographical influence on climate is the location of mountain ranges. Mountain ranges cause prevailing winds to hit one side (windward) and not the other (leeward) resulting in a more wet side and a more dry side.
Define precipitation
The forms in which moisture is returned to the Earth from the sky, most commonly in the form of rain, hail, sleet and snow
Define rain shadows
The dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range
Define leeward
The area behind a mountain range, away from the moist prevailing winds
Define windward
The side of the mountain that faces the prevailing winds.
What affect does altitude have on climate?
Temperatures fall by 0.65 °C for every 100-metre increase in elevation.
How does the sun affect climate?
The sun’s rays are more direct at the equator. With more energy focused on that region, it heats up more quickly. At the poles, the sun’s rays are spread over a larger area and therefore cannot heat up as effectively. As a result, areas at the poles are much cooler than areas at the equator.
How does the tilt of the Earth on its axis affect climate?
When a hemisphere tilts towards the sun, the sun’s rays hit it more directly. This means that a larger space is in more intense sunlight for longer. The days are longer and warmer, and the hemisphere experiences summer and vice versa.
How do ocean currents affect climate?
When cold ocean currents flow close to a warm land mass, a desert is more likely to form. This is because cold ocean currents cool the air above, causing less evaporation and making the air drier. As this air moves over the warm land, it heats up, making it less likely to release any moisture it holds; thus, deserts form.
