| Question | Answer |
| orbit | the path followed by an object in space as it moves around another |
| revolution | one complete orbit of Earth around the sun. Earth completes one rrevolution every 365 years. |
| axis | imaginary line around which a planet turns. Earth turns around its axis which runs between its north and south poles. |
| rotation | spinning motion of Earth, like a top on its axis. Earth takes 24 hours to rotate one time. |
| low latitudes | region between the tropic of Cancer and the tropic of Capricorn |
| high latitudes | regions between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole and the Antarctic Circle and the South Pole. |
| middle latitudes | regions between the TROPIC OF CANCER AND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE AND THE TROPIC OF Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle |
| Tropic of Cancer | 23.5 degrees North, part ofEarth that receives the most direct light and heat energy from the Sun. This region is on both sides of the Equator. |
| Tropic of Capricorn | The southern boundary of the tropics. 23.5 degrees South |
| Arctic Circle | 66 degrees north line of latitude around Earth near the North Pole |
| Antarctic Circle | 66 degree south line of latitude around Earth near the south pole |
| landform | shapes and types of land |
| mountain | landforms that rise usually more than 2,000 feet above sea level |
| hill | lower and less steep than mountains with rouded tops |
| plateau | large, mostly flat area that rises above the surrounding land |
| plain | large areas of flat or gently rolling land (many are coastal plains or in the middle of a continent) |
| plate tectonics | theory that the earth's crust is broken into huge, slowly slabs of rock called plates |
| plate | a huge section of the Earth's crust which continents rest on (fit together like a puzzle, they were once called Pangea) |
| weathering | the breaking down of rocks by wind, rain or ice |
| erosion | process by which water, wind or ice wears way landforms and carries the material to another place |
| atmosphere | layer of gasses surrounding the earth |
| Ring of Fire | circle of volcanic mountains surrounding the Pacific Ocean |
| Pangea | sngle landmass that broke apart to form continents (existed 180 million years ago) |
| weather | condition of the bottom layer of Earth's atmosphere in one place over a short period of time |
| temperature | degree of hotness or coldness ; such as air or water that is measured with a thermometer |
| precipitation | all forms of water (rain, sleet, hail, snow) that fall to the ground from the atmosphere |
| climate | the weather patterns of an area over a long period of time |
| Gulf Stream | warm ocean current of the North Atlantic, flowing northweastward off the North American coast |
| Peru Current | cold water current in southest Pacific ocean that flows between 40 degrees south and 4 degrees south |
| California Current | southward flowing ocean current along West Coast of N. America (48 - 23 degress north) |
| St. Louis | city in Missouri (38 N, 90 W) |
| Great Plains | Region in the U.S.A. with a humid continentla climate, which supports grasslands & forests (moderate to hot summers and the possibility of very cold winters) |
| vegetation | plants that grow naturally in certain climates |
| Geographers study _________ broad types of climates | FIVE |
| barren, usually frozen land found in the Artic Circle, with a Polar Climate that does not support the growth of trees due to the short, cold summers and long, even colder winters | TUNDRA |
| What kind of vegetation CAN grow on a Tundra? | low grasses and shrubs, mosses and lichens and a few flowering plants |
| A dense covering of branches and leaves that make up the upper layer of vegetation in a Tropical Rain Forest | CANOPY |
| Place where the climate changes are related to the elevation on a mountain (example Mt. Everest) | VERTICAL CLIMATE |