Tilt & Seasons
When the Northern Hemisphere tilts toward the sun and has summer, this hemisphere tilts away and has winter.
What is the Southern Hemisphere?
This periodic change in Pacific Ocean currents and temperatures disrupts weather patterns worldwide.
What is El Niño?
This hot, rainy climate near the Equator supports rain forests like the Amazon.
What is a tropical climate?
This part of Earth is made of water — oceans, lakes, rivers, and groundwater.
What is the hydrosphere?
True or False: The side of Earth facing the sun is colder.
What is False (it's warmer)?
This effect traps heat in the atmosphere and keeps Earth warm enough for life.
What is the greenhouse effect?
These are the prevailing winds found near the Equator.
What are trade winds?
This desert landform forms where an underground spring reaches the surface.
What is an oasis?
This part of Earth is made up of the crust, including the ocean basins.
What is the lithosphere?
True or False: A steppe is a type of dry climate.
What is True?
This is Earth spinning once every 24 hours, causing day and night.
What is rotation?
This side of a mountain faces the oncoming wind and gets more rain.
What is the windward side?
Because of limited direct sunlight, these climates near the poles support only limited plant and animal life.A) Tropical dry climates B) Midlatitude climates C) High latitude climates D) Marine west coast climates
What are high latitude climates? (C)
This thin layer of gases surrounds Earth and is about 78 percent nitrogen.
What is the atmosphere?
True or False: Tropical dry climates support more plants and animals than tropical wet climates.
What is False (tropical wet supports more)?
This is the day of the year with the least amount of daylight.
What is the winter solstice?
This dry region forms on the leeward side of a mountain range.
What is a rain shadow? Desert will also be accepted
This type of dry climate is a semiarid grassland, wetter than a desert.
What is a steppe?
This part of Earth that supports life combines the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
What is the biosphere?
True or False: Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be too hot to support life.
What is False (it would be too cold)?
This imaginary line, tilted about 23.5°, is what Earth spins around.
What is the axis?
This effect, caused by Earth's rotation, bends wind and ocean currents into curved paths.
What is the Coriolis effect?
Humid subtropical, marine west coast, Mediterranean, and humid continental are all types of this climate zone.
A) Low latitude B) Midlatitude C) High latitude D) Tropical
What is the midlatitude zone? (B)
This underwater extension of the coastal plain slopes gradually before dropping sharply to the ocean floor.
What is the continental shelf?
True or False: The Equator experiences the most dramatic variation in sunlight throughout the year.
What is False (the poles do)?