Download Chapter 4- Global Climates and Biomes

APES Ch. 4 Study Guide
Chapter 4- Global Climates and Biomes
Chapter 4 explains the Earth’s weather and climate. Important concepts are the layers of the Earth’s
atmosphere, how temperature changes in each layer, the processes that affect climate, and how ocean
currents influence weather and climate on Earth. You should be familiar with the different types of
biomes (both aquatic and terrestrial), and have a general understanding of each.
Textbook Resources:
Chapter 4: Global Climates and Biomes
Additional Resources:
Cartoon guide to the Environment: Chapters 4 and 5
Key Ideas:
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The processes that affect heat and precipitation around the globe are unequal heating of Earth by the Sun,
atmospheric convection currents, the rotation of the Earth, Earth’s orbit around the Sun on a tilted axis,
and ocean currents.
The four layers of Earth’s atmosphere are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere,
the exosphere is space.
The different types of ocean currents are gyres, upwellings, thermohaline circulation, heat transport, and
the El Nino-southern oscillation.
Biomes are categorized by particular combinations of average annual temperature and annual
precipitation.
Vocabulary:
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
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10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Climate
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Albedo
Saturation point
Adiabatic cooling
Adiabatic heating
Latent heat release
Hadley cells
Intertropical convergence
zone
Polar cells
Coriollis effect
Gyres
Upwelling
15.
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Thermohaline circulation
El-Nino southern oscillation
Rain shadow
Biomes
Tundra
Permafrost
Boreal forest
Temperate rainforest
Temperate seasonal forest
Woodland / shrubland
Temperate grassland / cold
desert
Tropical rainforest
Tropical seasonal forest /
savannas
APES Study Guide / Chapters 4 Global Climates and Biomes
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
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Subtropical desert
Littoral zone
Limnetic zone
Phytoplankton
Profundal zone
Benthic zone
Freshwater wetland
Salt marshes
Mangrove swamps
Intertidal zone
Coral reef
Coral bleaching
Photic zone
Aphotic zone
Chemosynthesis
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Study Guide Questions:
1. How can floods in one place and droughts in another be connected, such as in Kenya in 2003?
2. What is the difference between weather and climate?
3. What two factors primarily determine which organisms can live in an area?
There are 7 major components to the distribution of heat and precipitation (and thus climates) on Earth:
Earth’s Atmosphere
4. Explain why atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases.
5. Identify which of the 5 layers of Earth’s atmosphere fit each description in the table:
Aurora Borealis (northern lights) occurs here
Atmospheric pressure is highest here
All weather occurs here
Atmospheric pressure is lowest here
Atmospheric temperatures are highest here
Contains the ozone layer
Layer closest to the surface
Densest layer of the atmosphere
Outermost layer of the atmosphere
Temperature is around 20° at this layer’s lowest point
The lowest pressure is found in this layer
6. The chemical formula for ozone is ______ and its function is to ___________________
Unequal Heating of Earth
7. Explain how each of the following factors creates unequal heating of Earth’s surfaces:
a. Angle of sun to surface:
b. Solar rays per unit area:
c. Albedo:
8. How will the melting of polar ice from global warming alter Earth’s albedo?
APES Study Guide / Chapters 4 Global Climates and Biomes
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9. Generally speaking, the _________ regions of Earth receive the most light/heat in a year and the
_________ regions receive the least light/heat in a year.
Atmospheric Convection Currents
10. Explain why warm air rises and cool air sinks.
11. Why is rising air associated with precipitation?
12. What types of atmospheric conditions are found where air sinks back to the surface?
13. Draw each of the following on the diagram below:
 Earth’s atmospheric convection cells, with direction of air movement
 The general level of precipitation found at each latitude belt: 0/30/60/90)
14. Why does the ITCZ move throughout the year in a regular pattern?
Earth’s Rotation and the Coriolis Effect
15. The Coriolis Effect deflects moving objects (such as wind) in a ________ direction in the northern
hemisphere and a _____________ direction in the southern hemisphere
16. Draw arrows indicating the general direction of wind movement between latitudes :
APES Study Guide / Chapters 4 Global Climates and Biomes
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Earth’s Tilt and Seasons
17. In Abilene, the longest day of the year occurs in the month of _______ because
__________________________________________________________________
18. Why does the northern hemisphere’s summer come during the southern hemisphere’s winter, and vice
versa?
Ocean Currents
19. What are gyres, and how are they created?
20. Explain how oceanic gyres and atmospheric convection currents redistribute heat around Earth.
21. Upwelling is a process in which _________________________ water is brought to the surface along a
coast. It is caused by ____________________________ and is important to humans because
_______________________________________________________.
22. Describe what thermohaline circulation is, and how it transports heat.
23. The ENSO is a disruption to _________________________________ in which warm water and increased
precipitation build up in the region of _________________________ while drought and cold water occur in
the region of _______________________________
Rain Shadows
24. What is the difference between the windward and the leeward sides of a mountain range?
Summarize why latitude is so important in determining climate:
APES Study Guide / Chapters 4 Global Climates and Biomes
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Complete the following biome charts for terrestrial and aquatic biomes:
Terrestrial
Biomes:
1.
Tundra
2.
Boreal
Forest
3.
Temperate
Rainforest
4.
Temperate
Seasonal
Forest
5.
Shrubland
(Chaparral)
6.
Temperate
Grassland
7.
Tropical
Rainforest
8.
Tropical
Season
Forest
9.
Subtropical
Desert
General Global Location
Annual Weather
Patterns
Soils
Distinguishing species
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Aquatic Biomes:
Defining characteristics
Ecological importance:
10. Streams & Rivers
11. Lakes & Ponds
12. Freshwater
Wetlands
13. Salt Marshes
14. Mangrove
Swamps
15. Intertidal Zone
16. Coral Reefs
17. Open Ocean
APES Study Guide / Chapters 4 Global Climates and Biomes
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