What is an extreme environment

​Lesson objectives

​To be able to name and locate a range of extreme environments.

To explain what makes an environment extreme

Open Ended

Write a sentence about each picture

What are the similarities and differences

​Biomes- a large scale ecosystem

Open Ended

Describe the location of the tropical forests

​Biomes- a large scale ecosystem

Characteristics of Extreme environments

​ Watch the clips provided and create a mind map showing a range of adjectives describing extreme environments.

Open Ended

What words would you use to describe an extreme environment?

​Surviving in extreme environments

​Extreme environments have very harsh and challenging conditions but people and animals still live there.

Open Ended

Why is it hard to survive in an extreme environment?

Match

Match the following

• Extreme cold

• Without water

• Extremely hot

• Hypersaline

• Under Pressure

habitats usually below 5C.

habitats without consistent water access

Habitats with temperatures over 40C

High salt concentration

environment deeper than 2000m underwater

• habitats usually below 5C.

• habitats without consistent water access

• Habitats with temperatures over 40C

• High salt concentration

• environment deeper than 2000m underwater

​Too Acidic or Alkaline

​The acidity of Spain's Rio Tinto is too much for most animals to survive. But some lifeforms, like the red algae,  live and thrive in these conditions. These acidophiles prefer waters with a pH level of 3 or less.

​Too hot or too cold

​Extreme cold environments are usually less than 5C. These are usually include the polar regions as well as high mountains.


Extreme hot is defined as over 40C. This incudes some desert regions as well as underwater thermal springs.

Very few animals or people are adapted to this

​

1.Using 2 different colours, shade in the hot arid and polar regions.

2.Create a key to show what the colours represent.

3.Draw on the equator and the 2 tropics.

​Too much pressure

​As you go deeper underwater the amount of pressure increases. At 2000m this is considered an extreme environment. The pressure at this depth would crush anything that contained air

​Not enough oxygen

​Dead zones are low-oxygen, or hypoxic, areas in the world’s oceans and lakes. Because most organisms need oxygen to live, few organisms can survive in hypoxic conditions. That is why these areas are called dead zones.

​Other extreme environments

​Environments can be extreme if they are too salty- such as some coastal lagoons.

They can have little or no access to water or have high levels of radiation. This prevents most animals and plants from living there but some still do!

Open Ended

Write a paragraph explaining what makes an extreme environment.

Eg In my opinion, an extreme environment is...

​Extreme environment definition

​4) An extreme environment is a really tough place to live, like super hot deserts or freezing cold places like the North Pole. Only tough creatures can survive there.

​2: Extreme environments are super tough places for living things, like scorching deserts with blazing heat, freezing polar regions, or places with super salty water. The extreme temperatures, saltiness, and pressure make it challenging for creatures to thrive.

​3) An extreme environment is like a place that's just, you know, really weird. It could be super hot like an ice cream shop in summer or freezing cold like a freezer. Also, there's places with lots of water, and that's extreme because, like, fish live there, and they have to swim all the time, which is tough. So, extreme places are just, like, odd places with hot, cold, and watery stuff.

​1) Extreme environments are geographical locations with severe conditions. Deserts are extreme with intense temperature fluctuations, and some areas have hyper-saline water or extreme pressure, contributing to the challenges faced by organisms.

Reorder

Which definition do you think is the best. Order them from best to worst.

• 1

• 2

• 4

• 3

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Open Ended

Pick out one idea you agree with and explain why, and one you don’t agree with (explain why).

​Lesson objectives

​To be able to name and locate a range of extreme environments.

To explain what makes an environment extreme

​Homework

​ Using the resource provided and the information gained throughout the lesson, answer the following:

Explain how we get hot arid and polar environments.

Open Ended

What would you like to learn about in this extreme environment topic?