Question
How do North America’s various biomes enable different kinds of economic activities? (Offering desert climate for commercial fishing; Providing fertile soil for widespread agriculture; Using steep mountain slopes for growing grain; Creating ideal conditions for arctic construction)
Answers
GPT-5 mini
Correct choice: Providing fertile soil for widespread agriculture.
Brief explanations:
- Desert climate for commercial fishing — false. Deserts lack the freshwater/coastal marine productivity needed; commercial fishing depends on productive coastal and continental-shelf marine biomes (e.g., Pacific and Atlantic fisheries), not arid deserts.
- Fertile soil for widespread agriculture — true. Temperate grasslands and some deciduous-forest soils (e.g., the Great Plains and Midwest) are highly fertile and support large-scale grain and row-crop farming.
- Steep mountain slopes for growing grain — false. Steep slopes are generally unsuitable for large-scale grain production; mountain land is more often used for grazing, forestry, specialized orchards/vineyards, or terraced small-scale crops in other parts of the world.
- Arctic conditions ideal for construction — false. Arctic and tundra biomes present difficult building conditions (permafrost, short seasons); construction there is costly and requires special techniques rather than being "ideal."
Brief explanations:
- Desert climate for commercial fishing — false. Deserts lack the freshwater/coastal marine productivity needed; commercial fishing depends on productive coastal and continental-shelf marine biomes (e.g., Pacific and Atlantic fisheries), not arid deserts.
- Fertile soil for widespread agriculture — true. Temperate grasslands and some deciduous-forest soils (e.g., the Great Plains and Midwest) are highly fertile and support large-scale grain and row-crop farming.
- Steep mountain slopes for growing grain — false. Steep slopes are generally unsuitable for large-scale grain production; mountain land is more often used for grazing, forestry, specialized orchards/vineyards, or terraced small-scale crops in other parts of the world.
- Arctic conditions ideal for construction — false. Arctic and tundra biomes present difficult building conditions (permafrost, short seasons); construction there is costly and requires special techniques rather than being "ideal."