Tropical Deserts Flashcards
What are the latitudinal co-ordinates of Tropical Deserts?
The latitudinal co-ordinate range is about 15 degrees North to 30 Degrees South.
What is the humidity of Tropical Deserts
The humidity is very low
What is the average annual rainfall in Tropical Deserts
The range is about 0 - 250 mm which is very low compared to some other biomes
What is the average temperature of Tropical Deserts
The range of the temperatures is pretty big while the morning can get up to 40 degrees celcius but the nights can drop below 0 degrees
What are 5 animal adaptations of the Tropical Deserts
No sweat glands, Smaller size, Fat storage, Large hind legs and Big ears.
Why is having no sweat glands a good animal adaptation in Tropical Deserts.
I helps keeping as much water as you can because the desert doesn’t have much water
Why is a smaller size a good animal adaptation in tropical deserts.
I makes it so were you don’t have to eat or drink that much, and you can hide in small spaces away from the sun and large predators
Why is fat storage a good animal adaptation in tropical deserts?
Fat makes it so where you have lots of heat, and because it is so hot in the desert you don’t want any extra heat. So some animals place their fat in a specific place instead of their whole body so they only feel super hot in one place.
Why are large hind legs a good animal adaptation in Tropical Deserts?
They help prey and predator alike run away or catch something. The large hind legs allow animals to jump much higher than normal.
Why are big ears a good animal adaptation in Tropical deserts?
Big ears means hearing better and releasing much more heat so the animals don’t burn up.
True or False. All of the following are adaptations of the cactus plant.
- thick, waxy skin to reduce loss of water and to reflect heat
- large, fleshy stems to store water
- thorns and thin, spiky spines or glossy leaves to reduce water loss
True
True or False. All of the following are adaptations of the cactus plant.
- thick, waxy skin to reduce loss of water and to reflect heat
- large, fleshy stems to store water
- thorns and thin, spiky spines or glossy leaves to reduce water loss
True
The hump on the stores water for the camels journey.
No, it doesn’t store water, it stores fat
True or false. Camels have small surface area to volume ratio - to maximise heat loss
False
An extremely dry area with little water and few plants
A desert
Baobab tree thrives in the arid tropical deserts of Africa because;
it stores water in it’s thick trunks
Where there is water and therefore plants and trees found in a desert.
Oasis
Atacama, Namib, Congo and Sahara
All of the following are examples of Tropical Desert except;
Congo
Choose the correct option. In the tropical deserts, one may find some plants which have developed ___________.
Adaptations to deal with rapid decomposition; leaves with drip tips; buttress roots to support their height; small leaves to reduce water loss
Small leaves to reduce water loss
True or false. Camels have large, flat feet - to spread their weight on the sand.
True
What is the name of the largest desert?
Sahara
What are 5 plant adaptations in tropical deserts?
Waxy skin, deep roots, drought resistance, poisonous parts and spines
Why is Waxy skin a good plant adaptation in Tropical Deserts?
If you have waxy skin you won’t transpire as much, this is good because in the desert you need to save as much water as possible
Why are deep roots a good plant adaptation in Tropical Deserts?
If the roots are deep then the plants will be able to pick up ground water found deep in the ground
Why is drought resistance a good plant adaptation in Tropical Deserts
Because there is not much water or rainfall, the plants have adapted to not use much water and to store most of the water they get
Why are poisonous parts a good plant adaptation in Tropical Deserts.
If you are a poisonous plant then lots of animals will realize this and try not to eat you
Why are spines a good plant adaptation in the Tropical Desert.
Because if animals that want to eat you see that you have spines then they won’t attack you.
