Lesson 34

Biomes
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
■ define the terms biome and biosphere
■ recognize land and aquatic as the two main types of biomes
■ identify how climate can affect biomes

Academic Vocabulary Take a walk in a natural setting near you, such as

a park, forest, or beach. What living organisms do
Read the following vocabulary words and definitions. Look through the lesson. Can you observe? Draw and name each living organism
you find each vocabulary word? Underline the vocabulary word in your lesson. Write you see in its natural habitat. Think about any
the page number of where you found each word in the blanks. traits or characteristics these organisms might
have in common.
■ aquatic: an environment in which living organisms primarily live in or near water
(page _____)
■ biodiversity: the variety of plants and animals in a particular environment (page _____)
■ biome: a large community of specific plants and animals that live in a certain climate
(page _____)
■ biosphere: the regions of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere that contain
living organisms (page _____)
■ hydrosphere: the total mass of water on a planet that includes water present on the
surface, underground, and in the atmosphere (page _____)
■ lithosphere: Earth’s surface (page _____)

SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34 1

 Imagine you are on a journey through South America. You begin your adventure in a
high mountain valley like the one you see in the left picture below. You then quickly
move down the mountain and arrive in a lush, tropical rainforest like the one pictured
on the right.
■ What types of living organisms, both plant and animal, would you find in each location?
Go online and take a virtual journey to each of the
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habitats described in the Explore section. Search
  ............................................................................................................................................................... for plants and animals that might be found in each
  ............................................................................................................................................................... of the locations. Use the examples generated from
your online research to help compare and contrast
■ How would they differ?
the types of living organisms you might find in
each habitat.
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■ Would any be the same?

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2 SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34

Biosphere: The Location of All Life
Earth is the only planet known to have
life. The areas of Earth in which living
organisms are present is called the
biosphere. The biosphere is composed
of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and
atmosphere. The lithosphere is Earth’s
Remember that portions of Earth’s surface,
surface. The hydrosphere is the total
atmosphere, and hydrosphere are included in the
amount of water found on a planet. biosphere. This means that there are some areas
For Earth, the hydrosphere consists of Earth’s surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere
of water found on the surface, such in which living things cannot be found. Examples
as lakes, oceans, and rivers, as well as would be at the upper edges of Earth’s atmosphere
water located under the surface and in or in water found deep below Earth’s surface.
the atmosphere.

The biosphere can be found in the deepest ocean trenches, high in the clouds, and in
many habitats in between. Wherever living organisms can be found, that is our planet’s biosphere!

What parts of Earth are included in the biosphere?

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Name as many locations as you can that identify where living organisms can be found on Earth.

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SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34 3

 Biomes: A Diversity of Life
Earth’s biosphere is a diverse place with a large variety of organisms
that find places to live and thrive all over the planet. Because of this
huge diversity, scientists have categorized the biosphere into distinct
biomes. A biome is a large community of specific plants and animals
that have adapted to live in a certain climate.

Biomes are first categorized as land or aquatic. Aquatic biomes are

those in which the living organisms live primarily in or near water.
Aquatic biomes include habitats such as marine or ocean habitats,
freshwater lakes, and wetlands. Land biomes include habitats such
as tropical rainforests, deserts, and mountainous areas. In each
biome, diverse yet very specific plants and animals can be found living
together to support one another.

What is a biome?

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.............................................................................................................................. This picture details the locations of all land biomes found on Earth.

Provide three examples of specific habitats that are known as biomes.

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Which biome do you live in? If you are not sure, do some research online to find out. What other areas around the world share a similar biome
to you?
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4 SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34
The Five Major Biomes
The five major biomes are aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra. We will spend the rest of this chapter exploring each biome in greater
detail. Some of these biomes are so diverse that they are often described and broken down into smaller, more specific biomes. For example, there
is a wide range of living organisms found in aquatic biomes, so these habitats are often categorized as either saltwater (marine) or freshwater
biomes. In the same way, we will look at specific biomes within the five major biomes throughout each unit in this chapter.

Climate & Biomes

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of each biome is its climate. The weather conditions in a biome over an extended period of time—
including the temperature, precipitation, amount of sunlight, and wind speed—all affect the types of plants and animals that can live there. Biomes
that are closer to the equator have warmer temperatures, more sunlight, and longer growing seasons. In these biomes, there is a wider variety
of plants and animals than in biomes located farther away from the equator. A biome’s biodiversity, or the variety of plants and animals in a
particular environment, increases the closer it is to the equator. Which do you think lives in the most biodiverse biome: a polar bear or a monarch
butterfly? The monarch butterfly!

Aquatic Grassland Forest Desert Trundra

SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34 5

 Look at the map below of the major land biomes found on Earth.

In this lesson, you learned:

• The biosphere is composed of all places on Earth

in which living organisms can be found.
• The biosphere is divided into distinct biomes,
which are specific habitats where plants and
animals are adapted to survive.
• Aquatic biomes are habitats composed of living
organisms that live primarily in or near water.

1. Based on the map, what patterns or trends do you see regarding the location of • The climate of land biomes greatly impacts
each biome? its biodiversity.

  ...................................................................................................................................................... Think About It

Which biome do you think would have the highest
  ...................................................................................................................................................... number of different species of plants and animals?
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2. Based on the map, which biome seems to be the largest?

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3. Based on the map, which biome seems to be the smallest?

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6 SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34

Fill in the blanks.

1. The ___________________________ is the total amount of water found on the planet.

2. The ___________________________ is also known as Earth’s surface

3. The biosphere is composed of Earth’s ___________________________ , Create a poster either either on a computer or
___________________________ , and ___________________________. using poster board and markers that describes
the location and components of the biosphere. Be
Read each sentence. Circle True or False. sure that your poster includes the terms biosphere,
atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Make sure
4. True or False An example of an aquatic biome is a forest. your poster contains both plants and animals!

5. True or False An example of a land biome is a desert.

6. True or False There are five major biomes, which are often described in more
specific habitats.

SCIENCE • GRADE 5 • LESSON 34 7