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Skills Worksheet
Critical Thinking
ANALOGIES
Mark the letter of the pair of terms that best completes the each of the analogies
shown. An analogy is a relationship between two pairs of words or phrases written
as a : b :: c : d. The symbol : is read “is to,” and the symbol :: is read “as.”
______ 1. understory : light ::
a. canopy : epiphytes
b. desert : water
c. emergent layer : snakes
d. grassland : antelopes
______ 7. rain forest : vegetation ::
a. taiga : altitude
b. desert : animals
c. savanna : bison
d. grassland : topsoil
______ 2. cold : migration ::
a. trees : deforestation
b. heat : estivation
c. water : vegetation
d. temperature : elevation
______ 8. high latitude : poles ::
a. high altitude : cold
b. low latitude : tropics
c. low altitude : warmth
d. equator : humidity
______ 3. savanna : tropical ::
a. desert : dry
b. grassland : fertile
c. taiga : temperate
d. tundra : arctic
______ 9. deforestation : flooding ::
a. trading : habitat
destruction
b. transpiration : water
vapor
c. precipitation : rainfall
d. adaptation : predators
______ 4. conifers : taiga ::
a. sand : desert
b. permafrost : tundra
c. shrubs : chaparral
d. trees : savanna
______10. tundra plants : wide, shallow
roots ::
a. tropical rain forest trees :
buttresses
b. chaparral plants : fires
c. conifers : acidic soil
d. savanna plants : deep root
systems
______ 5. logging : forest ::
a. farming : desert
b. flooding : chaparral
c. overgrazing : grassland
d. hunting : tundra
______ 6. spines : cactus ::
a. leaves : succulents
b. lichens : moss
c. scaly skin : reptiles
d. camouflage : animals
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Critical Thinking continued
INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS
Examine the following descriptions, and answer the questions that follow.
Plant #1 is tall, with broad leaves that turn color in autumn.
Plant #2 has a waxy coating, spines, and a long and shallow root system.
Plant #3 has needle-like leaves and a pyramid shape, and is able grow in acidic soil.
11. What is the common name of plant #1 and what biome would it most likely
grow in? Name one adaptation that helps it survive in its biome.
12. What is the common name of plant #2 and what biome would it most likely
grow in? Name one adaptation that helps it survive in its biome.
13. What is the common name of plant #3 and what biome would it most likely
grow in? Name one adaptation that helps it survive in its biome.
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Critical Thinking continued
AGREE OR DISAGREE
Agree or disagree with the following statements, and support your answer.
14. Many types of ecosystems can exist within a given biome.
15. The conversion of grasslands to croplands was necessary.
16. Our ability to fight certain diseases is threatened by habitat destruction.
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Critical Thinking continued
REFINING CONCEPTS
The statements below challenge you to refine your understanding of concepts
covered in the chapter. Think carefully, and answer the questions that follow.
17. Recommend a strategy for incorporating sustainable human activity into a
tropical rain forest biome.
18. Brush fires are common in dry biomes, such as temperate grasslands, chaparral,
and the taiga. Is fire beneficial or harmful to biomes? Defend your answer.
19. How does plant height affect the behavior of animals in a savanna? Describe
how some animals have adapted.
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TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE
Answer Key
Concept Review
MATCHING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
conifer’s ability to affect the soil
through its needles. When its needles
drop, they acidify the soil surrounding the tree, making the soil inhospitable for plants that might
otherwise grow near the conifer and
compete with it for water, nutrients,
and sunlight.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
g
j
e
d
h
c
b
a
i
f
a
b
c
c
c
b
a
b
AGREE OR DISAGREE
14. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Agree; biome describes the general
plant and animal community that
dominates a given region. Example:
different types of deciduous forest
are all considered temperate deciduous forest. Also, biomes contain
ecosystems that are not included in
the overall biome profile. For example, temperate forests and taiga contain fields (grasslands).
15. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Agree; while many of the native grasslands of our planet have been
destroyed with the introduction of
farmland, this change was crucial to
the success of humans as a species. To
support the agriculture of our growing
populations, we needed to use the
most fertile land. The United States
has been particularly successful at
grassland agriculture.
16. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Agree; many medicines come from
plants that grow only in the tropical
rain forests, which are being cleared
rapidly for activities such as logging
and agriculture. Tropical rain forests
once covered about 20 percent of
Earth’s surface but now cover only
about 7 percent. If the clearing of rain
forests continues at its present rate,
many rain forest species are likely to
become extinct. Many of these species
are plants that could be useful for
fighting diseases.
Critical Thinking
ANALOGIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
b
b
d
c
c
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
d
d
b
a
a
INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS
11. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Plant 1 is a deciduous tree found in a
temperate forest. Its broad leaves help
it absorb energy in the summer while
its height shades out competition. The
leaves drop in autumn so that the tree
can better survive long winters when
water is scarce or frozen.
12. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Plant 2 is a cactus. Its succulent flesh
stores water, allowing it to weather
the hot, dry desert climate. Its stems
have a waxy coating to preserve water
and spines to protect it from predators. The cactus’s long, shallow root
system helps it collect as much water
as possible during the desert’s infrequent rains.
13. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Plant 3 is a coniferous tree found in
the taiga. Its needle-like leaves help it
to preserve water which is scarce or
frozen during the winter, and its
pyramidal shape helps it shed heavy
snow. Another adaptation is the
REFINING CONCEPTS
17. Accept any reasonable answer. Sample
answer: An example of a sustainable
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TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE
6. latitude
7. altitude
8. Near the poles, the tundra supports
strategy for tropical rain forests is to
allow agriculture on land already
cleared for that purpose but to discourage the clearing of additional
land. Methods used to sustain agriculture in other regions of the world
could be employed. Money from
tourism could help to support the
local economy.
18. Answers may vary. Sample answer:
Huge fires that burn for long periods
of time over large areas can destroy
thousands of acres of grassland or
trees and kill thousands of animals.
However, fire can also restore nutrients to the soil from burned plant matter. Natural fires destroy trees that
compete with other plants for light
and space, such as in the chaparral.
Thus, chaparral plants, which are welladapted to fire, are able to thrive.
Controlled fires help to clear underbrush and thus prevent rapid spread of
wildfires in the taiga.
19. Answers may vary. Sample answer: In
order to reduce competition for food,
different herbivore species feed at different heights. Small gazelles graze on
grasses, rhinos browse on shrubs, and
giraffes feed on tree leaves. Many animals give birth only during the rainy
season when food is abundant. Other
grazing herbivores, such as elephants,
follow the rains and migrate to areas
of watering holes and newly-sprouted
grass.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
SECTION: FOREST BIOMES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
100 acres
animals, plants, and humans
50 million
nearby cities
habitat destruction
a place that is suitable for living
4
1
2
3
20 percent; 7 percent
They all lose the habitat they were
dependent upon.
13. for logging operations, agriculture, or
oil exploration
14. Its habitat may be destroyed or altered.
SECTION: GRASSLAND, DESERT, AND
TUNDRA BIOMES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
c
a
b
less than 50 to 75 percent of its mass
less than 30 percent of their mass
The roots spread out instead of growing down to absorb as much rain as
possible. Because it rains so rarely in
the desert, rainfall rarely penetrates
the soil deeply.
7. thick stems and leaves that store
water, waxy coating on leaves
8. sharp spines
9. When the plant dies, it drops dormant
seeds in the soil. With the next rainfall,
the seeds germinate, grow, and bloom
quickly while the soil is still wet.
Active Reading
SECTION: WHAT IS A BIOME?
1. The author points out that climate
2.
3.
4.
5.
mosses and lichens. Near the equator,
the tropical rain forests support certain trees.
Compare: Both are units of measure;
contrast: latitude is the distance north
or south of the equator that is measured in degrees, while altitude is the
height of an object above sea level.
changes in latitude and altitude
changes in latitude and altitude
It includes biomes with moderate temperatures and fertile soil.
The climate gets colder.
becomes colder as latitude and altitude increase.
The author notes that the trees of
tropical rain forests grow closer to the
equator while mosses and lichens of
the tundra grow closer to the poles.
The introductory phrase “For example”
is used.
between 30° and 60° north latitude and
30° and 60° south latitude
temperate forests and temperate
grasslands
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Holt Environmental Science
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Biomes