How is the phosphorus cycle different from other biogeochemical cycles?
Phosphorus doesn't cycle through the atmosphere.
What is carrying capacity?
Average population size for a species in a particular habitat or ecosystem
Where is the X axis located on a graph?
horizontal axis
Which three factors affect biodiversity?
climate, area, and niche
What is biodiversity?
The different lifeforms in a habitat or ecosystem
What is interdependence?
All organisms are connected in an ecosystem so that if one organisms experiences change, all other organisms will be impacted.
Which organisms make up the base of an ecological pyramid?
primary producers
Where is the Y axis located on a graph?
vertical axis
What is a carnivore?
A meat eater.
What is an omnivore?
An organism that eats both plants and animals.
What is a herbivore?
A plant eater.
What is a reservoir?
A place where cycling matter is stored.
What is the main source of energy for all organisms?
Solar Energy
What is denitrification?
Bacteria turn nitrogen in the soil that is used by plants into gas that is released into the atmosphere.
Why is biodiversity important?
Living organisms have different purposes and interdependent relationships exist among living and nonliving things.
What is an autotroph?
An organism that makes its own food.
What types of organisms are typically at the top of an ecological pyramid?
carnivores/omnivores
How do humans get nitrogen?
Eating plants
Provide evidence for humans negatively impacting the environment.
Answers Vary
What is an invasive species?
A non-native organism introduced into a new habitat/ecosystem.
How is an ecosystem different from a community?
An ecosystem includes abiotic components of the environment, whereas communities include only living factors.
Which greenhouse gas is released when fossil fuels are burned, and has been negatively contributing to the greenhouse effect?
carbon dioxide
What is the greenhouse effect?
Gases in the atmosphere hold in the sun's energy to heat the Earth, making it warm enough to be habitable.
List three positive ways humans impact the environment.
Answers Vary
What is a detritivore?
An organism that feeds on the remains of plants and animals.
How does carbon return to the atmosphere?
Cellular Respiration from Plants and Animals, Burning of Fossil Fuels, Decomposition of Plants and Animals, Volcanic Activity
In which way is carbon REMOVED from the atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
Explain the movement of water through the biosphere.
Answer must include condensation, precipitation, rock deep percolation, groundwater, surface water, transpiration, and evaporation
What do the arrows point towards in a food web or chain?
consumers
What is the difference between habitat and niche?
A niche includes not only where an organism lives, but also its function in an ecosystem.
How is the scale (numbers) of a graph determined?
Based on the data given, a scale is determined by looking at the highest values so that the graph is spread out when points are plotted
What are some ways in which carbon moves through the Earth (not in the atmosphere)?
Animals eat plants, Decomposition, Fossil Fuels
What is nitrogen fixation?
When bacteria take nitrogen from the atmosphere and turn it in to a form that can be used by plants.
What are the four Main Carbon Reservoirs?
Atmosphere (carbon dioxide), ocean (carbon dioxide), on land (organisms), underground (fossil fuels)
Where does most of the energy go when it is transferred in an ecosystem?
It is lost as heat into the atmosphere.
Make a claim about human impact on the enviroment.
Answers Vary
List two density dependent factors that can affect carrying capacity for an ecosystem.
disease, competition, predation, etc.
What is transpiration?
Evaporation of water from the leaves of plants.
What is a trophic level?
steps in a food web or chain
liquid to gas
evaporation
Which two types of factors affect carrying capacity?
density dependent factors and density independent
What are two ways autotrophs make their own food?
photosynthesis and chemosynthesis
Explain two reasons the water cycle is important.
Answers Vary
What is the area around Earth called in which life can exist?
Biosphere
What are some of the major causes of climate change?
Burning fossil fuels, Deforestation, Water Pollution
What is biomagnification?
Concentration of toxins in organisms higher in the food chain occurs because of the accumulation from the consumption of organisms further down the food chain.