Science Units and Worksheets

I. DESERTS

Deserts are areas where more water evaporates than falls as precipitation. Most deserts are found along the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer. Exceptions are deserts of altitude and extreme temperature.

Antarctica- The Dry Valley

Asia- The Gobi

Australia- The Great Victoria Desert

Europe- Tabernas Desert

North America- The Mojave

North Africa- The Sahara

South Africa- The Kalahari and the Namib Deserts

South America- The Atacama Desert

II. FORESTS

Forests are large areas where there is a dense cover of trees. The type of forest is determined by latitude and/or climate.

    A. TROPICAL FOREST biomes are found between latitudes 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S. Some tropical forests are atypical because of                                                   elevation. In high elevations you will find Boreal forests or Taiga.

            SEASONAL TROPICAL FOREST- a tropical forest that has at least one dry season during the year.

            TROPICAL RAINFORESTS are forests receiving abundant rainfall throughout the year.

There are four distinct layers of a tropical rainforest:

CANOPY- the tops of the trees in a rainforest

EMERGENT LAYER- the tallest trees and their trunks

THE UNDERSTORY- the plants and trees that do not reach the heights of the emergent trees

FOREST FLOOR- the floor of a tropical rainforest which receives about 2% of the light from the sun with very hot and nearly 100% humidity conditions

    B. TEMPERATE FORESTS are found between latitudes 23.5N-66.3N and 23.5S-66.3S.

             DECIDUOUS forests are - hardwood forests- They lose their leaves in the Fall.

             CONIFEROUS- means "Cone-bearing"- softwood forests- evergreen trees with needles.

             RAINFOREST- a temperate forest with high annual rainfall

    C. BOREAL FOREST or TAIGA- northern latitude or high elevations; usually coniferous; forests with short, wet summers and long, dry                                                                  winters.

III. GRASSLANDS

Grassland biomes have a landscape dominated by grasses or grass-like vegetation. Grasslands are distinguished by the amount of rainfall that occurs or the geographic location that it occurs.

        A. SAVANNAS- tropical grasslands with wet and dry seasons

        B. STEPPES- temperate grasslands with dry conditions

        C. PRAIRIES- temperate grasslands with moderate rainfall

IV. MOUNTAINS

Mountains are created by extinct or active volcanoes or uprisings caused by the collision of tectonic plates. Depending on its location, all terrestrial biomes could be represented on one particular mountain.

       A. BOREAL- a taiga like mountain habitat

       B. ALPINE- a tundra like mountain habitat

V. POLAR

The Polar biomes are found north of 66.2 N degrees latitude and south of 66.2 S degrees latitude.

    A. ARCTIC- north of 66.2 N degrees latitude

       B. ANTARCTICA- south of 66.2 S degrees latitude

       C. TUNDRA- "treeless plain"- an area of treeless vegetation

VI. AQUATIC

When an organism lives in water, it is considered to have an Aquatic biome.

        A. FRESHWATER biomes are aquatic habitats with a low salt concentration.

                PONDS AND LAKES- bodies of deep standing freshwater

                RIVERS AND STREAMS- bodies of flowing freshwater

                WETLANDS- shallow standing water

                BOGS- filled with spongy, peaty soil and very simple plant life

                SWAMPS- found along low-lying river areas and have complex plant life. It can be freshwater or saltwater.

                MARSHES- a low lying area that floods frequently. It usually contains simple plant life like grasses and can be freshwater or saltwater.

                ESTUARIES- where freshwater rivers meet oceans

      B. SALTWATER biomes are aquatic habitats with a high salt concentration.

                     OCEANIC BIOMES are described by the depth of the water that they occur.

                                    PELAGIC ZONES- the open ocean

                                   BENTHIC ZONES- the bottom of any large body of water

        C. The SHORELINE is where the ocean meets land.

                             ROCKY- shoreline dominated by rocks usually accompanied by mountains and a steep drop to the ocean floor

                             SANDY- shoreline dominated by sand or volcanic ash

                             INTERTIDAL ZONE- area of land between high tide and low tide (more pronounced on rocky shorelines)

        D. A CORAL REEF  is an area of the ocean dominated by communities of living corals.

BIOME WEBSITES

Watersheds for Kids

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/biomes/

http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2001Outwest/PacificNaturalHistory/Projects/LachowskyR/Default.htm

http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/

http://www.nps.gov/olym/edurain.htm

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wsherb/edpages/raingrass/temperate.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/

http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/biomes.html

www.coolantarctica.com

http://www.worldbiomes.com/

antarctica

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Laboratory/Biome/

http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/intro.html

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/B/Biomes.html

http://www2.ups.edu/biology/museum/worldbiomes.html

http://curriculum.calstatela.edu/courses/builders/lessons/less/biomes/introbiomes.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/11922/habitats/habitats.htm

http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/habitat/habitat.html

http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/biomes/biomes.html

http://www.tesarta.com/www/resources/library/biomes.html

http://members.aol.com/bowermanb/ecosystems.html

http://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/intro.htm

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769052.html

http://www.micro.utexas.edu/courses/levin/bio304/biomes/biomes.html

http://www.sierraclub.org/ecoregions/

http://www.gma.org/katahdin/estuary.html

Arctic Tundra

A Biome Research Guide

Amusement Park Websites