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WGeography
Chapter 2 Vocabulary
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Weather | the condition of the bottom layer of the earths atmosphere in one place over a short period of time |
Climate | the term used for weather patterns that a area typically experiences over a long period of time |
Rotation | the spinning motion of the earth, like a top on its axis, as it travels through space |
Revolution | one complete orbit of the earth around the sun. the earth complets one revolution every 365 1/4 days, or 1 year |
Solstice | either of the 2 times a year when the sun appears directly overhead at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricon |
Equinox | either of the 2 times a year (spring and fall) when day and night are nearly equal length everywhere on earth |
Precipitation | all the form of water that fall to earth from the atmosphere, including rain and snow |
Front | a boundary between 2 masses of air that differ in density or temperature |
Continential Climate | the type of climate found in the great central areas of continents in the Northern Hemisphere, characterized by cold, snowy winters and warm or hot summers |
Ecosystem | the interaction of plant life, animail life, and the physical enviroment in which they live |
Biome | a term used to describe a major ecosystem that can be found in various regions throughout the world |
Deciduous | leaf-shedding; a type of tree that sheds its leaves during one season |
Coniferous | conr-bearring; a type of tree able to survive long, cold winters, with long, thin needles rather than leaves |
Chaparral | a type of natural vegitation that is adapted to Mediterranean climates; small evergreen trees and low bushes, or scrub |
Savanna | a tropical grassland with scattered trees, located in the warm lands near the Equator |
Herbivore | a plant-eating animal |
Carnivore | a meat-eating animal |
Prairie | a temperate grassland characterized by a great variety of grasses |
Tundra | a dry, treeless plain where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow |
Permafrost | a layer of soil just below the earths surface that stays permanently frozen |