Chapter 7

Question 1

Climate

Answer 1

Is an area’s general pattern of atmospheric conditions over periods of at least three decades and up to thousands of years.

Question 2

Ocean currents

Answer 2

Prevailing winds blowing over the oceans produce mass movements of surface water called ocean currents.

Question 3

Greenhouse gases

Answer 3

Small amounts of several gases in the atmo-
sphere, including water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), absorb and release heat that warms the atmosphere, thus playing a role in determining the earth’s average temperatures and its climates.

Question 4

Natural greenhouse effect

Answer 4

Some of this released energy radi-
ates into space, and some warms the lower atmosphere and the earth’s surface. This natural warming effect of the troposphere is called the natural greenhouse effect.

Question 5

Rain shadow effect

Answer 5

Over many decades, the resulting semiarid or arid conditions on the leeward side of a high mountain create what is called the rain shadow effect.

Question 6

Biomes

Answer 6

Large terrestrial regions, each characterized by certain types of climate and dominant plant life.

Question 7

Permafrost

Answer 7

One outcome of the extreme cold is the formation of permafrost, underground soil in which captured water stays frozen for more than 2 consecutive years.

Question 8

Weather

Answer 8

Is a set of physical conditions of the
lower atmosphere such as temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind speed, cloud cover, and other factors in a given area over a period of hours or days.