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 the weather patterns that an 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 completes one revolution every year |
solstice | either of the two times a year when the sun appears directly overhead at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn |
equinox | either of the two times each year spring and fall when day and night are of neatly equal length everywhere on earth |
precipitation | all the forms of water that fall to earth from the atmosphere including rain and snow |
front | the boundary between two masses of air that differ in density or temperature |
continental climate | a 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 animal life and the physical environment in which they live |
biome | the term used to describe a major type of ecosystem that can be found in various regions throughout the world |
deciduous | a type of tree that sheds its leaves during on season |
coniferous | a type of tree able t survive long,cold winters with long thin needles rather then leaves |
chaparral | a typw of natural vegetation 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 |