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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are the first two laws of thermodynamics?
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conservation of energy and entropy
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What is the ultimate source of energy for almost all life on earth?
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The sun
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What is the name of the process that transfers solar energy to chemical energy and what is its chemical formula?
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photosynthesis
6 H2O + 6 CO2 --> C6h1206 + 6 02 |
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Where would you look on earth to find organisms that rely on breaking down inorganic compounds for energy?
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Hydrothermal vents
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Distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors.
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Biotic - living organisms
Abiotic - nonliving things in the ecosystem Abiotic - temperature, pH, oxygen level |
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What role does phytoplankton play in the oxygen carbon cycle?
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creating oxygen
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Organism in what type of environment produce 90% of the oxygen resulting from photosynthesis?
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Aquatic animals
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What is the difference between a population, community, and ecosystem?
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Population = one species
community = more than one species ecosystem = living and non-living things |
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What is the main way in which organisms interact with each other?
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Eating each other
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Define the following terms and give two examples of each: herbivore, carnivore, omnivore, detritivore.
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a detritivore is a decomposer - fungi, bacteria
an omnivore eats only plants and animals - bears, turtles a carnivore eats only meat - foxes, snakes |
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What is the difference between an autotroph and a heterotroph?
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An autotroph makes its own food and a heterotroph cant make its own food
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What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
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A food chain is just one chain and a web has multiple chains
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Describe a food chain that might exist in a pond ecosystem. Include four trophic levels.
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Macrophytes -> daphnia -> leech -> carp
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Approximately what proportion of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem? What happens to the rest of the energy?
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10% is used to sustain the organism
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Define:
Primary Producers Primary Consumers Secondary Consumers Tertiary Consumers Quaternary Consumers |
Primary Producers: grass, shrubs and trees.
Primary Consumers: grasshoppers (plant-eaters). Secondary Consumers: birds (insectivores). Tertiary Consumers: snakes (bird-eaters). Quaternary Consumers: Owls (snake-eaters). |
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Why is it more efficient to eat low on the food chain?
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Biomass is less as you go up the foodchain
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Define biomass.
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The amount of living matter in a given habitat (without water) (measured in atrophic level)
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What six elements do living things need in fairly large ammounts?
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Sulfur, phosphorus, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen.
(S P O N C H) |
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Why would a farmer want to plant a crop of leguminous peas or vetch to be plowed under before growing a nutrient intensive crop like corn?
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The leguminous plants put the nitrogen back in the soil.
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Why is phosphorous important to living things?
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It is part of DNA.
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Explain how a nutrient can be a limiting factor in an ecosystem?
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If there is not enough of it, it can slow growth
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What important role do trees play in mitigating the effets of flooding?
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Transpiration (acts like a sponge)
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Describe what happens to PCB levels in an aquatic ecosystem such as lake erie. How do levels of PCB affect herring gulls and other higher order consumers? What apparent effect do PCBs have on humans? Are they still used in the US?
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The higher it is in the food chain, the more PCBs are present - more concentrated.
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Define the term eutrophication and tell why it is bad for lakes. What contributes to eutrophication and how is the level of dissolved oxygen affected in a lake.
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Term used to describe what happens to lakes when they have been impacted by nutrient loading loading. (usually N + P) Causes the overgrowth of plants and algae.
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Why is the re-emergence of mayflies such a hopefull sign for the health of Lake Erie?
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It indicates that there's a high oxygen level.
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Why is Lake Erie the most eutrophic of all the Great Lakes?
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Because its the most shallow of all the Great Lakes.
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List the levels of organiztion in biological systems.
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biosphere - all ecosystems on earth
ecosystem - community plus noliving factors community - population that has different species (living things only) population - organisms of the same kind that can produce fertile offspring organism organ tissue - cells of the same kind CELL - smallest unit of life organelles molecules subatomic particles |
