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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ecology |
Study of relationships between living things and their surroundings |
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Biosphere |
portion of earth inhabited by living things > made up of biomes |
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Biotic |
Living things |
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Abiotic |
Nonliving things |
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Zones in The Biosphere |
1. Atmosphere> air 2. Lithosphere/Geosphere> land 3. Hydrosphere> water |
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Geosphere/Lithosphere |
the rigid part of Earth including the crust and upper mantle |
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Atmosphere |
The gaseous part of the Earth> air |
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Hydrosphere |
all of the (liquid and solid) that exists |
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Open system |
exchange of both energy and matter with its surroundings |
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Closed System |
Exchange of energy but not matter with the surroundings |
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Earth> Open or closed system? |
Closed but matter has to be recycled in the biosphere |
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4 ways organisms use energy |
1. Grow 2. Reproduce 3.Maintain life processes 4. Move |
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What is Cellular Respiration? |
6O2+C6H12O6> 6CO2+6H2O+energy conversion of chemical energy in sugars into energy used to fuel cellular activities |
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What is Photosynthesis? |
6CO2+6H2O+light energy> 6O2+ C6H12O6 green plants trap energy in energy rich molecules by synthesizing glucose |
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In what way does the energy involved with photosynthesis differ from the energy involved with cellular respiration? |
In photosynthesis, the process needs to have some form of energy (light) to perform whereas cellular respiration releases energy. |
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What is the connection between organisms that are producers and organisms that are consumers? |
consumers obtain their energy from the stored chemical energy of producers |
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Autotrophs (Producers) |
Organisms that obtain energy from the physical environment (sun) > able to produce their own food |
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Heterotrophs (Consumers) |
organisms that must eat another living thing to obtain their energy |
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Detritus |
the wastes or remains of an organism |
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Albedo |
describes the percentage of reflected energy |
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What percentage of the Sun's energy is absorbed by Earth's land and ocean surfaces? |
51% |
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How does the amount of energy from the sun that reaches producers compare with the amount that first reaches Earth's atmosphere? |
A lot of the energy that hits the Earth's atmosphere is reflected back into space, absorbed by clouds, land and water which is why producers only receive 1-2% |
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Chemoautotrophs |
certain bacteria that live near deep sea vents use the energy from splitting hydrogen sulfide molecules to synthesize organic molecules (chemosynthesis) > found in cold water seeps, hot springs, salty lakes and deep caves. |
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How is chemosynthesis similar to and different from photosynthesis? |
similar> both are a form of photosynthesis that produces a certain by-product differences> chemo is in the absence of light photo is in the presence of light, different products/outcomes |
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Why are herbivores classified as primary consumers? |
They are the first eaters of plants and other producers. |
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What are secondary and tertiary consumers? |
2nd> eat herbivores 3rd> eat other carnivores |
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Why are decomposers heterotrophic organisms and not producer organisms? |
Decomposers also eat once-living matter to obtain energy. |
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Laws of Thermodynamics |
1st> energy can't be created or destroyed only transforms from one form to another 2nd> some energy will always be lost as unusable heat in any transfer |
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The Biosphere as a System |
-energy cannot be recycled -must be a constant input -energy flows through the biosphere from organism to organism in the food chain |
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In what ways do the laws of thermodynamics apply to the processes that take place in and between organisms? |
Energy is being transferred through organisms and there is always a loss of energy through heat |
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What is a trophic level? |
a feeding level that an organism occupies in the food chain |
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Food Chain |
shows the progressive transfer of energy from one level to the next |
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In terms of feeding relationships, in what ways can organisms in an ecosystem be identified? |
Trophic Levels |
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Ecosystem |
a community of populations, together with the abiotic factors that surround and affect it |
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Which trophic levels contain producers and which contain consumers? |
1. Producers
2,3,4... Consumers |
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Food webs |
show the complex interaction between all of the organisms at different trophic levels |
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Energy generated by cellular respiration is not all used due to... |
-useful work in the cell -energy converted to heat -dispersed into biosphere -no longer available for living organisms to use |
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Why is less energy transferred from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem? |
Heat and metabolic processes cause 80-90% energy loss during transfers |
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Explain why there is a limit to the length of food chains |
Laws of thermodynamics> only a certain amount of energy is at each level so that it eventually runs out |
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Pyramid of numbers |
the number of organisms at each trophic level > numbers decrease at higher levels (least accurate) |
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Explain why a pyramid of numbers can be upright or inverted |
In a forest ecosystem, there can be very few but large trees as producers and then more consumers which can cause the pyramid to be inverted |
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Pyramid of biomass |
amount of dry tissue mass at each trophic level > many organisms tend to be larger than the food they eat >more accurate |
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What are the disadvantages of the pyramid of biomass and numbers? |
Numbers> takes too long to count each and every organism Biomass> some scientists define biomass in different ways such as adding once living materials |
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Pyramid of energy |
amount of energy stored at each trophic level >can never be more energy at higher levels >shows how little energy is left at the top of the pyramid >most accurate |
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Describe 2 ways that a pyramid of energy differs from a pyramid of biomass and numbers |
>it's the amount of energy being transferred > the pyramid is always upright because there will never be more energy at higher levels than at lower levels |
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Explain why the pyramid of biomass is different in marine ecosystems |
Phytoplankton grow/reproduce at a faster rate than zooplankton but even though the number of producers double in size every few days, it is not reflected by their biomass because they are eaten at a faster rate than they reproduce. |
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Bioaccumulation |
build up of toxic chemicals in organisms as the chemical moves up the food chain |
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Why does Health Canada recommend that women of child-bearing age not eat shark meat more that once a month? |
Sharks contain a high concentration of methyl mercury which could harm the fetus. |
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The percentage of radiant energy that reaches earth that is converted into chemical potential energy by photosynthesis is about... |
1-2% |
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Rule of ten |
The assumption that 10% of energy is transferred from one level to the next >makes calculations easier but is an oversimplification |
