Page 79 - Ripples SCIENCE 7 - TEJPUR Edition 2024 Answer Key
P. 79

4.  How does the Earth’s tilt and its distance from the equator influence climate?

                  Ans.  Earth’s tilt : Earth’s axis is an imaginary line that passes through the North Pole,

                       centre and South Pole of the Earth. Although we cannot feel the Earth spinning, it
                       makes one complete turn, each day, around its own axis. This complete turn on its

                       own axis is called rotation. The Earth is tilted towards its axis known as the rotational

                       axis. The rotation of the Earth is responsible for the occurrence of day and night.
                      The Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5°. This axial tilt along with the revolution of the

                       Earth around the Sun is responsible for the change of seasons across the globe.
                      Distance from equator : The equator is an imaginary line that divides the Earth into

                       the  Northern  Hemisphere  and  the  Southern  Hemisphere.  The  distance  from  the

                       equator represents latitude. The climate of a place is determined by its latitude.
                       As the Earth circles the Sun, the tilt of its axis causes changes in the angle by which

                       Sun’s rays fall on the Earth. This causes change in the daylight hours and the regions
                       become colder with the increasing latitude. This is the reason why places near the

                       equator are hot and places near the poles (90°) are cold.

                  5.  Explain how animals adapt to following climates:
                       (a) Tropical Rainforests                     (b) Temperate regions

                      (c) Polar regions

                  Ans.   (a)   Tropical  Rainforests:  In these rainforests, days and  nights are almost equal
                            throughout the year. There is no shortage of water. Due to these ideal conditions,

                            about half of the world’s animal species live in these regions. Some examples

                            of animals that live in tropical rainforests are monkeys, apes, tigers, gorillas,
                            elephants, leopards, lizards, snakes, birds and insects. Since many species live

                            together, there is intense competition for food and shelter.
                              Stick  insect  camouflages  itself  with the branch  of  the tree. There are  some

                            butterflies whose wings look like leaves which help them hide from their prey.

                              Birds like parrots and toucans eat nuts. They are able to crack open the tough
                            shells of nuts.

                              Red-eyed tree frogs have sticky pads on their feet that help them climb trees.
                            This frog species is bright green in colour with pale yellow stripes.

                            Monkeys have long tails and arms to move through the branches of trees safely.

                              Elephants have long  trunks which  they use for picking  food.  As they move
                            through the thick forests, their strong tusks are used to tear the barks of trees

                            for eating.


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