Question 1
Question
Which of the following climate zones would be described as not extreme, with four seasons?
Answer
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polar
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tundra
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temperate
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tropical
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rain forests
Question 2
Question
Which of the following is a local area's short-term temperature, precipitation, and humidity?
Answer
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climate
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weather
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biomes
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ecosystems
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currents
Question 3
Question
Where does the largest input of solar energy occur?
Answer
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north pole
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south pole
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30 degrees north
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30 degrees south
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equator
Question 4
Question
Prevailing winds are the result of what?
Question 5
Question
Which of the following statements about oceans is not true?
Answer
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ocean currents redistribute heat from the sun
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most of the heat absorbed by the ocean air is absorbed in tropical waters
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irregularly shaped continents cause currents to flow in circular patterns
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differences in density of warm and cold seawater set up warm and cold currents
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oceans currents flow counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere
Question 6
Question
Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
Answer
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carbon monoxide
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water vapor
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carbon dioxide
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methane
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nitrous oxide
Question 7
Question
The term greenhouse effect describes
Answer
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occupational diseases of florists
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the trapping of heat energy by molecules in the atmosphere
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the effect climate change had on the economy
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the efforts of the White House to support environmental legislation
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mutations in DNA from UV radiation
Question 8
Question
Scientists expect human-enhanced global warming to do all of the following except
Answer
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alter precipitation patterns
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shift areas where we can grow crops
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raise average sea levels
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lower sea levels
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shift areas where plants and animals can be found
Question 9
Question
The rain shadow effect refers to
Answer
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more light on the windward side of mountain ranges
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more moisture on the leeward side of mountain ranges
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moister conditions on the windward side of mountain ranges
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drier conditions on the windward side of mountain ranges
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less light available on the leeward side of mountain ranges
Question 10
Question
Large terrestrial regions with similar characteristics are
Answer
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ecosystems
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communities
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populations
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habitats
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biomes
Question 11
Question
The most important factor in determining which biome is found in a particular area is
Answer
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soil type
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topography
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magnetic fields
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climate
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tidal activity
Question 12
Question
Biomes are characterized by certain types of
Question 13
Question
Which of the following is the primary limiting factor that controls the vegetative character of a biome?
Answer
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light
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precipitation
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nutrients
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soil type
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predation
Question 14
Question
Which of the following is not an adaptation of desert plants for their environment?
Answer
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toxins in their stems to discourage being eaten
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spines to discourage animals from taking their water
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opening their pores only at night to prevent evaporation
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store water in expandable tissues
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reduced or no leaves
Question 15
Question
Which type of desert would have high daytime temperatures in summer, low temperatures in winter, and moderate precipitation?
Answer
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tropical deserts
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cold deserts
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Gobi desert
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temperate deserts
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Sahara desert
Question 16
Question
"Widely scattered clumps of trees, warm temperatures year-round, alternating dry and wet seasons, with herds of herbivores" are the characteristics of which of the following?
Answer
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tall-grass prairie
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tundra
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short-grass prairie
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temperate grasslan
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savanna
Question 17
Question
Which of the following is not true of prairies?
Answer
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wind blows almost continuously
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evaporation is rapid
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fires in summer and fall are common
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prairies are typical of coastal regions of continents
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tree growth is hindered by fires and wind
Question 18
Question
Treeless, bitterly cold most of the year, winters are long and dark, low-growing plants, and permafrost are the characteristics of which of the following?
Answer
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tall-grass pairie
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tundra
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short-grass prairie
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temperate grassland
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savanna
Question 19
Question
On a visit to a Natural History museum you are shown a burrow-dwelling small animal with thick fur. You predict the animal came from the
Answer
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temperate grasslands
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desert
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artic tundra
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tropical forest
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taiga
Question 20
Question
Thick, spongy mats of low-growing plants, primarily grasses, mosses, and lichens, are typical of the
Answer
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artic tundra
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coniferous forest
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tall-grass prairies
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tropical forests
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taiga
Question 21
Question
Which of the following is the big disadvantage of living in a chaparral region?
Question 22
Question
Tropical rain forests are not good for clearing to grow crops or animals, primarily because they are low in which of the following?
Answer
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rainfall
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temperature
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light
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soil nutrients
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wind
Question 23
Question
Trees of the tropical rainforest are characterized by leaves that are
Question 24
Question
Which of the following would not be true of a tropical rain forest?
Answer
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low net primary productivity
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little ground level vegetation
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low levels of ground level sunlight
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high biodiversity
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high humidity
Question 25
Question
Which of the following about temperate deciduous forests is false?
Answer
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average temperature change significantly with the seasons
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they are predominantly a few broadleaf deciduous tree species
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areas cleared of trees can return to forest in 100-200 years
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they have nutrient-poor soil
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precipitation often spreads relatively evenly throughout the year
Question 26
Question
Which of the following biomes has been most disturbed by human activities?
Question 27
Question
Which of the following would be described as having ample rainfall or moisture from fog, with large conifers such as Sitka spruce and Douglas fir?
Question 28
Question
If you are walking through a forest dense with oak and hickory trees and thick with leaf litter underfoot, you would assume you are in a
Question 29
Question
Which of the following best describes the earth's average surface temperature for the past 900,000 years?
Answer
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a steady warming trend
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fairly steady temperatures until recently
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prolonged periods of cooling and warming
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fairly steady with occasional cool spells
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fairly steady with a recent cooling trend
Question 30
Question
The earth’s lower atmosphere is composed of all of the following greenhouse gases, except
Answer
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ozone
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carbon dioxide
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water vapor
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methane
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nitrous oxide
Question 31
Question
Climate models predict that global warming will be most severe in which regions?
Answer
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Australia
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North America
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Polar regions
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Africa
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Euro-Asia
Question 32
Question
The predicted rise in sea levels during the 21st Century will likely cause all of the following results, except
Answer
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saltwater contamination of coastal freshwater aquifers
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flooding of some of the world's largest coastal cities, including New York
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flooding of low-lying barrier islands and gently sloping coastlines
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replenishment of many coastal fisheries
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destruction of many coastal estuaries, wetlands, and coral reefs
Question 33
Question
Following is a list of possible climate change tipping points, except for one. Choose the one that is not a tipping point.
Answer
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atmospheric level of 450 ppm
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collapse and melting of the Greenland ice sheet
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expansion of Amazon rainforest
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massive release of methane from Arctic permafrost
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sharp drop in the ability of the oceans to absorb carbon dioxide
Question 34
Question
The atmospheric zone where most weather events occur is the
Answer
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stratosphere
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toposphere
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mesosphere
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stratopause
Question 35
Question
The ozone hole that causes concern among scientists and the public is an ozone depletion in the
Answer
-
toposphere
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thermosphere
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straosphere
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mesosphere
Question 36
Question
Albedo is a term describing the Earth’s
Question 37
Question
The phenomenom causing the greehouse effect is that ________ in the lower atmosphere selectively absorbs reradiated _____________ radiation.
Question 38
Question
Convection currents in the atmosphere are driven by
Answer
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the jet stream dipping down into the troposphere
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the different temperatures and densities of warm and cold air masses
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bursts of energy emitted by the ionsphere
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the surface winds, which in turn are influenced by the Coriolis effect
Question 39
Question
A band of deserts rings the Earth at about 30 degrees north and south latitude because these are regions of
Question 40
Question
As a cold front advances, the warm air is forced to
Answer
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rise, become warmer and absorb more moisture
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go under the mass of cold air
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fall, condense and lose its moisture
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rise, cool and release its moisture
Question 41
Question
Milankovitch cycles involve the periodic _____________ and could be responsible for ________climate changes.
Answer
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convection currents in the lower atmosphere; drastic
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summer/winter seasonality on the Earth; gradual
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wobbling of the earth's axis and orbital shirts; cyclic
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seasons; daily
Question 42
Question
When El Nino occurs every three to five years, a mass of warm Pacific water that is usually pushed westward by the trade winds
Answer
-
surges back eastward toward South America
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Becomes much warmer than usual, strengthening trade winds
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cools dramatically
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surges northwards toward Japan
Question 43
Question
Why don’t storms over land have as much energy as storms over oceans?
Answer
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convection currents are intensified by the latent energy of warm dry air
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convection currents are intensified by the latent energy of condensation
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high pressure cells are more common over oceans
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there aren't as many low-pressure systems over land
Question 44
Question
Monsoons occur over India when air heated over the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean
Answer
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is forced to rise because of convection
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is forced to rise when it meets the Himalayas
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begins to sink as summer approaches
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is forced out over the Indian Ocean
Question 45
Question
Location of specific biomes can be predicted based on
Answer
-
the Coriolis effect
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precipitation and temperature
-
seasonal variations in sunspots
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large landforms in the area
Question 46
Question
The growth in the Taiga is limited by
Answer
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the increased soil salt content from ocean tides
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intense heat and dryness
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the lack of large predators
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extreme cold and short summers
Question 47
Question
The biome that has a short growing season and is summer feeding and breeding grounds for caribou and musk-oxen is the
Answer
-
temperate grasslands
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boreal forests
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arctic tundra
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arctic deserts
Question 48
Question
Having needle-shaper leaves benefits plants because needles
Answer
-
reduce water loss and endure cold winters
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are more efficient at photosynthesis because they are dark green
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evaporate water more efficiently
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are less resistant to strong winds
Question 49
Question
Decidous forests
Answer
-
are adapted to extremely cold cimates
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have tress that bear seeds in cones
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have trees that shed their leaves seasonally
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are not found in the African continent
Question 50
Question
Humid tropical forests have extraordinary biological diversity
Answer
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because of the very fertile tropical soils
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because water is not a limiting factor
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because rainfall dissolves soils nutrients and makes the available to plants
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because the temperature is consistent at the equator allowing for specialization