||BEGINNING THE JOURNEY
On your trip throughout this incredible state you
will visit many different areas of Utah. Each of these areas has
different kinds of plant and animal life. These areas are often
referred to as BIOMES. A biome is a large area
where certain types of plants and animals are found. For example;
the plants and animals that are found in the Red Rock areas of
southern Utah are very different from those found in the high
Uintah Mountains. Scientists have identified seven different biomes.
In Utah we can find places that have features similar to many
of the biomes on this planet.
There are two major things in nature that cause
differences in plant and animal life in an area. Can you think
of what they might be? Record your answer and then find the correct
answer by highlighting the area below. This is done by clicking
down your mouse and dragging it across the box
the answer is:
The amount of
precipitation an area receives.
range during the year.
Well, how did you do? Even if your answer did not
match the answers in the box, you may have had a good answer.
One of the most important parts of "doing" science is asking good
questions and then doing your best to answer them. Sometimes when
you ask a question and then do an experiment to answer that question,
you may not come up with the results you thought you would. Your
"hypothesis" was not correct. Guess what? In science that is OKAY!
In fact sometimes the best questions are the ones with no clear
The climate of an area is the weather
over a long period of time. Animal and plant life in biomes
are affected by climate and other things such as latitude (how
far north or south of the equator), and altitude (how high the
biome is above sea level).
THINK ABOUT IT!
- What generally happens to the temperature as
you move north or south of the equator?
- What generally happens to the air temperature
as elevation increases?
your answer to the above questions and then highlight the box to
find out if you were correct.
Other things in nature that affect climate are mountains
and water bodies. If you live near the Great Salt Lake, you already
know about the extra snow that piles up because of the "Lake Effect."
Also, most of Utah's climate is affected by nearby mountain ranges.
As you learn more about biomes in this unit, you will learn more
about these factors. You will also learn more or may have learned
about this subject in a the weather unit called "LANDFORMS
the answers are:
The temperature usually
drops as you move north or south of the equator.
The temperature usually
drops as elevation increase
|YOU'RE THE AUTHOR!
As you learn about the different biomes in Utah,
you are going to have the opportunity to write, illustrate and
publish a book. Here is what you will need to do.
For each biome you visit, you will need to choose
a plant and an animal that lives in that particular biome. The
word for that is "indigenous." For example, in a desert you might
choose a certain type of cactus and a desert tortoise. After you
have decided on the species you would like to investigate, you
- Make an illustration of each species (or you
may decide to find a picture from the Internet or a magazine).
- List the adaptations (physical features, food,
shelter and other needs) that the plant or animal has made to
live in its biome.
- Classify the plant or animal (that means that
you put it into a group). You will find out more about that
on a future page called " CHANGE
|All of the information should be neatly
written in pen or if you have a computer, you could type and print
it. When you have finished your work, you can staple it together
or if you have access to a machine that binds paper into a book,
you could do that. Remember, you should do your very best work on
If you have any questions on these instructions,
be sure to ask your teacher before you begin. Now let's continue
on with the tour!