Chapters 2-4 Study Questions

STUDY QUESTIONS:

• Chapter 2: Climate

  • Study Questions 2, 5, and 9 on page 34

2. What is the greenhouse effect, and how does it influence the net radiation balance (and temperature) of Earth?

5. Why are the coastal waters of the southeastern United States warmer than the coastal waters off the southwestern coast? (Assume the same latitude. Hint: Look at the direction of the prevailing surface currents presented in Figure  2.13.)

9. What feature of global atmospheric circulation gives rise to the desert zones of the midlatitudes?

• Chapter 3: The Aquatic Environment

  • Study Questions 3 and 9 on page 51

3. What property of water allows aquatic organisms to function with far fewer supportive structures (tissues) than terrestrial organisms have?

9. What causes the upwelling of deeper, cold waters in the equatorial zone of the oceans?

• Chapter 4: The Terrestrial Environment

  • Study Questions 1, 3, and 4 on page 68

1.Name two constraints imposed on organisms in the transition of life from aquatic to terrestrial environments.

3.What is the general shape of the curve that describes the vertical attenuation of light through the plant canopy based on Beer’s law? Why is it not a straight line (linear)?

4.What five major factors affect soil formation?