Geography End of Year

Question 1

Hot desert characteristics

Answer 1

• 30° North and South of Equator
• close to tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
• Covers a fifth of the world’s land surface
• Sinking air stops clouds forming
  
  • This causes high day temps and low night ones
• Hot deserts are associated with subtropical high pressure belts???
• Plants and animals found here have had to make adaptations to survive here

Question 2

TRF characteristics

Answer 2

• Located close to equator
• High temperatures due to high solar radiation
• Heavy rainfall as sun’s rays are concentrated at this latitude, heating moist air which rises and leads to heavy rainfall
  
  • Creates ideal conditions for plants to grow
• Covers 6% of Earth’s land surface
• Over half the planet’s species of plants and animals live there
• Quarter of all medicines come from plants found there

Question 3

Deciduous Forest characteristics

Answer 3

• Found at higher latitudes
• Mainly in western Europe
• Rain-bearing storms regularly because of the jet stream and the east coasts of Asia, NA and New Zealand

Question 4

Coniferous Forest characteristics

Answer 4

• Found at 60° North
• Extremely cold winters due to lack of isolation
• No sunlight for some months of the year due to the earth’s tilt
• Coniferous trees have evolved needle leaves to reduce moisture and heat loss during the cold dark winter months
  
  • Known as evergreens as they retain their leaves to maximise photosynthesis during the brief summer months

Question 5

Polar biome characteristics

Answer 5

• Located at the arctic and Antarctic

- Very low temperatures and dry conditions caused by the sinking of cold air at north and south poles

Question 6

Tundra characteristics

Answer 6

• Temp below freezing most of the year
• Only tough, short grasses survive (often in waterlogged conditions because of thawing surface ice)
• Tundra flora have adapted to retain heat and moisture to survive the cold, windy, dry conditions
• Fragile ecosystem easily damageable.
• Some animals like reindeer have also adapted to survive the cold

Question 7

Savanna characteristics

Answer 7

• Tropical climate in these low altitudes is characterised by distinct wet and dry seasons.
• Dry season is very hot and wild fires can occur
• Violent thunder storms can occur in wet seasons
• Large herds of animals graze on these grasslands
• Also home to predators like lions and leopards

Question 8

Mediterranean

Answer 8

• Hot dry summers
• Mild winters
• Vegetation includes olive trees and fruit trees like lemon and orange

Question 9

Temperate grassland

Answer 9

• Hot summers and cold winters

- Mainly used for grazing animals

Question 10

Steppe biome

Answer 10

• Dry, cold grassland
• Warm, dry summers and cold winters
• Grasses can tolerate these conditions
• Used for grazing animals