Biomes and vegetation belts (intro)

The major biomes of the world and the plants and climates that go with them

Name:

Date:

Try each question. If you're stuck, leave it and come back. The answer key is on the last page.

1
What is a biome? A) A large area of the Earth with a particular climate and types of plants and animals B) A type of weather report C) A small village D) A kind of rock
Answer:
2
Match each biome to a feature of it. Match each item on the left to one on the right. Left: Desert, Rainforest, Tundra, Grassland Right: Very dry, little rainfall, Hot and very wet, lots of trees, Very cold, frozen ground, Lots of grass, few trees
Answer:
3
True or false? The climate of a place mostly decides what biome it is. A) True B) False
Answer:
4
Fill in the blank. A biome with hot temperatures, very heavy rainfall and tall trees is called a ___.
Answer:
5
Which biome has cold winters, hot summers and trees that lose their leaves in autumn? A) Temperate forest B) Tropical rainforest C) Tundra D) Desert
Answer:
6
Match each biome to an animal often found there. Match each item on the left to one on the right. Left: Arctic tundra, Rainforest, Savanna grassland, Desert Right: Polar bear, Toucan, Lion, Camel
Answer:
7
True or false? A desert is a biome that gets less than 250 mm of rain per year. A) True B) False
Answer:
8
Which biome forms a band of cold conifer forests in the far north of Europe, Asia and North America? A) Taiga (boreal forest) B) Rainforest C) Desert D) Savanna
Answer:
9
Fill in the blank. The cold, treeless biome with permanently frozen ground is called the ___.
Answer:
10
Put these biomes in order from coldest to hottest. Put these in order: Rainforest, Tundra, Temperate forest, Taiga
Answer:

Answer key

Biomes and vegetation belts (intro) · for parents and teachers

1
A large area of the Earth with a particular climate and types of plants and animals
A biome is a big area of the world with a particular climate and the plants and animals that have adapted to live there.
2
Desert → Very dry, little rainfall; Rainforest → Hot and very wet, lots of trees; Tundra → Very cold, frozen ground; Grassland → Lots of grass, few trees
Deserts are very dry, rainforests hot and wet, tundra is cold and frozen, and grasslands are wide open areas of grass.
3
True
True. The temperature and amount of rainfall in an area decide which plants can grow there, which in turn decides the biome.
4
rainforest
A tropical rainforest is hot and wet with many tall trees. The Amazon in South America is the world's biggest.
5
Temperate forest
A temperate forest has four seasons. Many trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves each autumn.
6
Arctic tundra → Polar bear; Rainforest → Toucan; Savanna grassland → Lion; Desert → Camel
Polar bears live in the Arctic tundra, toucans in the rainforest, lions on the savanna and camels in the desert.
7
True
True. A desert is officially a place that gets less than about 250 mm of rain in a year.
8
Taiga (boreal forest)
The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. It is a cold area covered in evergreen conifer trees.
9
tundra
The tundra is a cold biome found near the Arctic Circle. The ground (permafrost) stays frozen all year and there are no trees.
10
Tundra, Taiga, Temperate forest, Rainforest
From coldest to hottest: tundra (Arctic), taiga (cold conifers), temperate forest (mild), rainforest (hot and wet).