Question

section 2

1. list three key factors that affect climate.
2. describe the changes in air - pressure that occur during an el niño year. how do these changes affect wind patterns?
3. how do large bodies of water and mountains affect climate?

section 3

1. what are the major climate regions into which geographers divide the earth?
2. what main types of vegetation grow in the earth’s major climate regions?
3. in what ways might the burning of fossil fuels affect a region’s vegetation?

Explanation:

These answers are based on fundamental concepts in geography related to climate, vegetation, and the impacts of natural and human - caused phenomena. Climate is influenced by multiple physical factors, and changes in climate can have significant effects on vegetation. El Niño is a well - studied climate pattern with specific air - pressure and wind - pattern changes. The division of the Earth into climate regions helps in understanding the distribution of vegetation types. The burning of fossil fuels is a major human activity with far - reaching environmental consequences for vegetation.

Answer:

1. Three key factors that affect climate are latitude, altitude, and proximity to large bodies of water.
2. During an El Niño year, the air - pressure in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean decreases while it increases in the western tropical Pacific. These changes reverse the normal trade - wind patterns. The normal easterly trade winds weaken or even reverse direction, becoming westerly winds in some areas.
3. Large bodies of water have a moderating effect on climate. They heat up and cool down more slowly than land, so coastal areas tend to have more moderate temperatures. Mountains can cause orographic precipitation. As air rises over a mountain, it cools and condenses, leading to increased precipitation on the windward side and a rain - shadow effect (drier conditions) on the leeward side.
4. Geographers divide the Earth into major climate regions such as tropical, dry, mild, continental, and polar.
5. In tropical regions, there is tropical rainforest vegetation (dense, diverse plant life), in dry regions, desert vegetation (cacti, succulents), in mild regions, deciduous forests (trees that shed leaves seasonally), in continental regions, coniferous forests (evergreen trees like pines) and grasslands, and in polar regions, tundra vegetation (low - growing plants like mosses and lichens).
6. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. This can lead to global warming, which may cause changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. These changes can affect a region's vegetation by altering the growing season, changing the availability of water, and causing shifts in the types of plants that can survive in an area. For example, some plants may not be able to adapt quickly enough to the changing conditions and may decline or disappear.