Vocabulary - Climates and Ecosystems

An _________ is a group of plants and animals that depend on each other and their environment to survive.

• temperate zone

• forest

• ecosystem

• biome

A _________is an intense rainstorm with strong winds that forms over oceans in the tropics.

• tornado

• tropical cyclone

• prevailing winds

• thunderstorm

Regions on Earth that are made up of similar communities of plants and animals are called __________.

• temperate zones

• forests

• ecosystems

• biomes

The condition or state of the air and sky on a given day at a certain time and place.

• climate

• weather

• tropics

• biome

A long-term pattern of the average weather of a place over many years.

• weather

• climate

• tropics

• biome

The _________traces water's movement from Earth's surface into the air and back.

• biome

• prevailing winds

• temperate zone

• water cycle

Winds that most frequently blow across a certain region.

• tropical cyclone

• prevailing winds

• tornado

• hurricane

The mostly sunny and hot areas of low latitudes that are near the Equator.

• temperate zones

• ecosystems

• biomes

• tropics

Area of Earth in the middle latitudes, where temperatures vary by season.

• temperate zone

• biome

• ecosystem

• tropics

Areas of high latitudes that cover the smallest areas of Earth's surface.

• tropics

• temperate zones

• polar zones

• moderate zones