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WorksheetsExtreme Environments: Tundra
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 11mins
Which ONE of these countries is NOT part of the Arctic Circle?
Russia
The USA
Canada
The United Kingdom
Which ONE of these statements correctly define a tundra environment?
The peak temperature is between 0 and 10 degrees Celsius for at least one month in the summer.
The temperature is always below freezing.
There is no sunlight for at least 45 days of the year.
The average annual precipitation is below 250mm.
Which of the climate graphs shows a tundra environment?
The word 'tundra' comes from the Finnish word 'tunturia'. What is the literal translation?
Cold land
Treeless land
Icy land
Mossy land
What is 'permafrost'?
Ground that has stayed frozen for at least 2 years, usually found between 25cm and 100cm underground.
Ground that is frozen during the winter and turns into boggy swamps in the summer.
Ground covered in snow all year round.
Pockets of earth found in ice trapped over 100cm underground.
Why is the Arctic tundra an extreme environment for humans to live in? Choose 3 answers.
There are long periods in winter when the sun doesn't rise there.
Temperatures can drop to below 30 degrees Celsius in the winter.
It is difficult to build houses, lay pipes and build transport links on the permafrost.
There are very few rivers to provide fresh water.
Why do trees not grow in the Arctic tundra? Choose 3 answers.
It is too cold for most of the year.
It is too windy so they are easily blown down.
Their roots cannot go deep into the permafrost.
There isn't enough rainfall.
Which TWO of these are behavioural adaptations of the Arctic hare to the tundra environment?
It's coat changes colour from brown in summer to white in winter for camouflage.
It has large feet to help it walk on snow.
It digs burrows to escape the cold and wind.
They gather together in herds of up to 100 in order to share heat during snowstorms.
What is an 'autotroph'?
A living thing that makes its own food by harnessing energy from the sun.
A living thing that eats plants or insects.
A living thing that grows on another living thing.
A living thing that eats large animals.
According to this food web, which of the following plants or animals is a 'primary consumer'?
Caribou
Grasses and sedges
Arctic fox
Snowy owl
Which ONE of these statements about the Nenets people of the Yamal Peninsular in northern Russia is NOT true?
They make boots and clothing out of reindeer skin.
The women help the men to hunt and fish.
They migrate for a distance of 1100km every year.
They live in tents made out of wooden poles and reindeer skin called 'chums'.
Which THREE of the following developments are challenges that the Nenets people are facing to their traditional way of life?
Climate change means the rivers they need to cross in order to migrate to the grazing land in the north do not freeze until later in the year.
The summer temperatures are getting colder meaning that there is less food for the reindeer.
Their reindeer have suffered broken legs when crossing railways lines laid by gas and oil companies that operate in the Yamal Peninsular.
They have been evicted and kept out of land that was traditionally used for grazing their reindeer by the gas and oil companies.
Which TWO reasons below explain why the city Norilsk, in Siberia, exists in such an extreme environment?
It has good transport links by air, train and road with Russian cities further south.
Huge amounts of metals such as copper, platinum, nickel and palladium were discovered there in the 1970s.
People can earn more money working as miners in Norilsk than in other places in Russia.
Norilsk is a popular tourist destination for people wanting to see the pristine Arctic environment.
Which THREE of these statements describe environmental effects of human activity in Norilsk?
In forests around the city, industrial chemicals in the ground can cause trees to suddenly catch on fire.
The metal smelting is directly responsible for acid rain and smog in the area.
The men in Norilsk have the highest incidence of lung cancer in the world.
Due to polluted air, there are hardly any trees within a 30km radius of the city, and slight damage to vegetation extends up to 120km away.
Roughly how much warmer is the temperature of the Arctic compared with a hundred years ago?
0.5°C
1°C
2°C
5°C
Which THREE of these statements are TRUE about the effects of global warming in the Arctic?
The amount of sea ice is decreasing.
Polar bears are finding it harder to find food.
Fewer polar bears are being born.
There is more snow in the winter.
Which THREE of these statements are TRUE about the effects of melting permafrost in the Arctic due to global warming?
Houses and infrastructure is collapsing more quickly.
When permafrost melts it releases carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere which are harmful greenhouse gasses.
Areas close to rivers and coasts are being eroded away more quickly as the land becomes warmer and more crumbly.
More people are moving to the Arctic as it becomes easier to build houses and roads there.
