Science: Cloze Activity What is a Rainforest? | Worksheet ... - Free Printable

Here's the completed worksheet with the correct answers filled in, followed by a clear explanation for each.

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✔ Completed Answers:

1. Rainforests are forests that experience a high level of rainfall.
2. It can take ten minutes for a falling raindrop to travel from a rainforest’s canopy to the floor.
3. Over 25% of natural medicines have been discovered in rainforests.
4. Birds, snakes, insects, jaguars, cougars, chameleons, turtles, frogs, and many more animals live in rainforests.
5. Due to deforestation, rainforests now only cover around 6% of the earth’s surface.
6. There are two types of rainforest, temperate and tropical.
7. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest in South America.
8. The rainforest floor is often dark and humid due to constant shade from the canopy’s leaves.
9. Bats and rodents are the most abundant kinds of mammals in most rainforests.
10. Tropical rainforest waters are home to the majority of freshwater fish species.
11. Most of the animal species found in the rainforest are invertebrates.
12. A number of tribes in areas such as central Africa and Brazil still live in rainforests, and have no contact with the outside world.

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📌 Explanation for Each Answer:

1. Rainfall – Rainforests are defined by their heavy, consistent rainfall — usually over 2,000 mm (80 inches) per year.

2. Canopy – The canopy is the dense upper layer of trees in a rainforest. Raindrops get caught or slowed by leaves and branches, so it takes time to reach the forest floor.

3. Medicines – Many modern medicines (like those for cancer or heart disease) come from plants and animals found in rainforests. Scientists estimate over 25% of Western medicines originate from rainforest ingredients.

4. Animals – The sentence lists many creatures — all are animals. This blank is a general category for the examples given.

5. Deforestation – Human activities like logging, farming, and mining have destroyed huge areas of rainforest. “Deforestation” means clearing forests, which has reduced rainforest coverage dramatically.

6. Temperate – Rainforests exist in both tropical (near equator) and temperate (cooler zones like Pacific Northwest) regions. So the two types are *temperate* and *tropical*.

7. Amazon – The Amazon Rainforest in South America is the largest tropical rainforest in the world, spanning multiple countries including Brazil, Peru, and Colombia.

8. Shade – The thick canopy blocks sunlight, creating a dark, cool, and moist environment on the forest floor — perfect for fungi and decomposers.

9. Rodents – In most rainforests, small mammals like mice, rats, and squirrels (rodents) are very common. Bats are also extremely numerous — together they make up the bulk of mammal species.

10. Fish – Rivers and streams in tropical rainforests (like the Amazon River) contain thousands of fish species — more than any other freshwater system on Earth.

11. Invertebrates – This includes insects, spiders, worms, snails, etc. They vastly outnumber vertebrates (animals with backbones) in rainforests — scientists estimate 90%+ of animal species there are invertebrates.

12. Tribes – Indigenous tribes like the Yanomami (Amazon) or Pygmies (Africa) live traditionally in rainforests, often isolated from modern society.

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✔ Final Tip: Always match the word to the context. For example, “canopy” fits best in #2 because it’s where raindrops start their journey. “Deforestation” makes sense in #5 because it explains why rainforests are shrinking.

Let me know if you’d like this turned into a printable answer sheet or want a quiz based on this! 🌿