Q 01/05

What prevents trees from growing in a tundra?

A) Constant flooding by meltwater

B) Cold and a very short summer

C) Salty, waterlogged soil

D) Too much ultraviolet sunlight

Answer · why

B) Cold and a very short summer

Tundra vegetation is limited to dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses and lichens.

Q 02/05

From which language does the word 'tundra' come?

A) Norwegian

B) Finnish

C) Russian

D) Inuktitut

Answer · why

C) Russian

It may ultimately derive from a Sámi word for a treeless upland or marshy plain.

Q 03/05

Which three regions and types of tundra are recognised?

A) Arctic, Taiga and Desert

B) Arctic, Alpine and Antarctic

C) Alpine, Montane and Coastal

D) Boreal, Steppe and Polar

Answer · why

B) Arctic, Alpine and Antarctic

Alpine tundra can occur on high mountains at any latitude.

Q 04/05

What is the name for the boundary between tundra and forest?

A) Frost line

B) Tree line

C) Fall line

D) Snow line

Answer · why

B) Tree line

It is also called the timberline.

Q 05/05

In which year did the word tundra first appear in English, spelled 'toundra'?

A) 1824

B) 1854

C) 1874

D) 1924

Answer · why

A) 1824

The French-looking spelling suggests it may have been borrowed via French.