Biology Final Exam Review

Front 1

albedo effect

Back 1

percentage of incoming solar radiation reflected by a surface

Front 2

bioamplification

Back 2

also known as biomagnification
the increase in concentration of a substance as it moves up the food chain. ex. shark eats numerous fish with contaminants such as mercury, the concentration of mercury will be higher in the shark than any of the fish.

Front 3

biosphere

Back 3

all of the areas on Earth (air, land, water) that are inhabited by and that support life

Front 4

indicator species

Back 4

species that can be observed by scientists to see the changes in the environment. ex.

Front 5

biological barrier

Back 5

factor such as behaviour that keeps species reproductively isolated and thus creates a difference in two species.

Front 6

biomass

Back 6

total dry mass of all the living (once living) organisms in a given population area

Front 7

biome

Back 7

ecosystem or group of ecosystems in a specific region on Earth that has a particular combination of biotic and abiotic factors

Front 8

examples of biomes

Back 8

water (fresh or salt,) tundra, taiga, deciduous forest, grassland, rainforest, desert.

Front 9

biotic vs. abiotic

Back 9

biotic: describes things that are living ex. humans, trees, fungi, bacteria, etc.
abiotic: non-living things in environment ex. sunlight, soil, water, air, minerals

Front 10

budding

Back 10

asexual form of reproduction whereby an organism developed from the trachea into the lungs

Front 11

atmosphere

Back 11

The envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet: "part of the sun's energy is absorbed by the earth's atmosphere".

Front 12

cellular respiration

Back 12

the process by which plants and all living organisms take glucose and oxygen and produce carbon dioxide and ATP energy.

Front 13

chemosynthesis

Back 13

synthesis of glucose/organic compounds using energy from thermal vents (generally deep-sea vents) and in the absence of light (no photosynthesis)
sulphur dioxide is a typical byproduct

Front 14

greenhouse effect

Back 14

trapping of the suns warmth in a planets lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the Sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planets surface.

Front 15

photosynthesis

Back 15

the process that plants (generally) use to take light energy and produce glucose, which can then be converted into energy via cellular respiration

Front 16

stromatolite

Back 16

fossilized sedimentary structure formed from ancient bacteria; iron bands present in some stromatolites provide evidence of oxygen formation in Earths past

Front 17

trophic levels

Back 17

the different "levels" of a food chain - the number of consumers changes the amount of trophic levels there are. trophic level in an ecosystem is a feeding level through which energy and matter are transferred.

Front 18

convection

Back 18

movement in a fluid caused by the tendency of hotter (less dense) material to rise, and colder (denser) material to sink (gravity)
results in the transfer of heat.

Front 19

phytoplankton

Back 19

autotrophic component of plankton community.
produce oxygen via photosynthesis

Front 20

zooplankton

Back 20

heterotrophic types of plankton (generally including crustaceans, small protozoa) which drift freely in the water column

Front 21

sulfur cycle

Back 21

organisms require sulfur as it is an important part of proteins and vitamins. incorporated in cells and tissues.
converted from sulfur dioxide to sulfate, precipitated (acidic) into sedimentation or water.
sedimentation to bacterial interface (sulfate/inorganic sulfur/hydrogen sulfide) or to coal, oil, ores

Front 22

acid deposition

Back 22

acid rain/form of precipitation that is unusually acidic. This can have a harmful effect on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure.
ex. SO2 + O2 + HOH-> H2SO3+H2SO4

Front 23

nitrogen fixation

Back 23

process by which bacteria converts nitrogen gas into ammonium (usuable form of nitrogen)

Front 24

denitrification

Back 24

when bacteria/organisms take nitrate/nitrite and convert it into nitrogen gas (inorganic)

Front 25

nitrogen cycle

Back 25

nitrogen makes up almost 78.1% of the atmospheric gases. it is used in protein make up and DNA. nitrate and nitrite and ammonium can be used biologically. nitrogen gas cannot.

Front 26

phosphorus cycle

Back 26

essential for cellular DNA and ATP composure and major component of BONES and TEETH.
found in soil and water - not in the atmosphere. obtained through milk, grain, meat.

Front 27

detriments of algae bloom

Back 27

overgrowth of algal bloom blocks sunlight from plants below and, when it dies, produces large amounts of organic matter, which uses up oxygen in water when it is decomposed, resulting in death of fish and other aquatic life.