Download review for exams questions from page 855 - Oraib al

Chapter 24: Australia
Grade 7
Physical Features:
Physical geography of Australia and the Pacific region is diverse.
• Region has tens of thousands of islands of varying sizes.
• It is the largest country in the huge Pacific region.
• Pacific region: Melanesia, Micronesia, Polynesia.
• Australia is completely surrounded by water, just like an island. (Its
large size makes it considered a continent)
• Interior of Australia is known as the OUTBACK, a sparsely inhabited
region with low plateaus and plains.
• Outback is home to a large rock formation known as Uluru, or Ayers
Rock.
• Central and western Australia include three large deserts—The Great
Victoria, Great Sandy desert, Simpson Desert.
Great Barrier Reef:
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located off Australia’s northeast coast, is the world’s largest
grouping of coral reefs.
• Home to many different underwater plants and animals.
• Popular place for surfing and scuba diving.
• Low islands are located just above sea level.
• Most have poor, sandy soil and little fresh water.
Plate tectonics:
 helps us understand the forces that have shaped Australia and
the Pacific.
• How huge blocks of Earth’s crust called “plates” move.
• The region used to be part of a giant continent. Over time the earth’s
plates separated, the giant continent broke apart.
• As the plates collide, they push the ocean floor up above the sea level.
(This creates many islands and volcanoes along the plate boundaries)
• Plate movement and volcanic action have formed the two main islands
of New Zealand.
Climate:
Australia’s climate changes dramatically from one area to another.
• Its southeast and southwest coasts have temperate climates.
• Eastern coast has plentiful rainfall.
• Far northern Australia, heavy monsoon rains are common in the
summer months.
• A winter dry season follows this wet season.
• Most of central Australia has arid and semiarid climates. Region has
warm temperatures and little rain year-round.
REVIEW FOR EXAMS
QUESTIONS FROM PAGE 841
Q 1, 2, 3, 8
Chapter 24: Australia and the Pacific
Grade 7
Section Two: History of Australia and the Pacific
Migration and Settlement:
Australia:
 The original inhabitants are the Aborigines.
 They lived throughout the continent, and were nomadic.
 They moved together in small groups, hunting animals and
gathering plants.
 Had a complex society without chiefs or other formal leaders.
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Strong religious convictions about nature, believing that it was
their responsibility to care for the land.
New Zealand:
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The Maoris are the original inhabitants. (New Zealand + Cook
Islands)
Fished, hunted and farmed.
Chiefs were at the top of Maori society.
At the bottom of society were the slaves, usually captured during
warfare.
The center of Maori society was the Marae, an enclosed area of
land that includes a meeting house and other buildings.
Art is an important part of Maori culture (carvings into their
buildings, canoes and weapons).
British explorer James Cook, claimed Australia and New Zealand for
Britain. Thus began the British colonization:
 They forced assimilation on the locals in order for them to
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“civilize” the Aborigines and the Maoris.
This is a result of ethnocentrism or the attitude that one’s own
social or cultural group is better than all the others.
In the 1900s, Australia and New Zealand gained their
independence.
REVIEW FOR EXAMS
QUESTIONS FROM PAGE 845
Q 1, 3, 5, 6
Chapter 24: Australia and the Pacific
Grade 7
Section Four: Antarctica (Pages 852-855)
Physical Geography:
 Most remote and least populated on Earth.
 Covered by glittering sheet of ice and surrounded by stormy
seas.
 Located directly South of Australia, Africa and South America.
 Coldest and windiest region on Earth.
 Ice Sheet
 Glaciers
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Ice Bergs
Pack Ice
Antartica’s interior is a dry and high plateau.
Little rain, less than 2 inches per year.
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Mineral Resources: Iron ore and Coal
Today, scientists use Antarctica to explore scientific ways of the
natural world.
1910: Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen began separate
expeditions to the South Pole. (The journey was long and
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dangerous, Scott’s team died in a blizzard on the return trip)
To study the climate, scientists dig deep into the ice sheet to
gather ice samples.
By examining these ice samples, they can learn about its climate
and when the ice was formed.
They also study the ozone layer.
REVIEW FOR EXAMS
QUESTIONS FROM PAGE 855
Q 3, 4, 5