Where does most of the energy go when it is transferred in an ecosystem?
It is lost as heat into the atmosphere.
What is carrying capacity?
Average population size for a species in a particular habitat or ecosystem
How does carbon return to the atmosphere?
Cellular Respiration from Plants and Animals, Burning of Fossil Fuels, Decomposition of Plants and Animals, Volcanic Activity
What is denitrification?
Bacteria turn nitrogen in the soil that is used by plants into gas that is released into the atmosphere.
What is transpiration?
Evaporation of water from the leaves of plants.
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.
Which greenhouse gas is released when fossil fuels are burned, and has been negatively contributing to the greenhouse effect?
carbon dioxide
What is another name for the water cycle?
hydrologic
What is an omnivore?
An organism that eats both plants and animals.
List three positive ways humans impact the environment.
Answers Vary
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.
liquid to gas
evaporation
Make a claim about human impact on the enviroment.
Answers Vary
Explain two reasons the water cycle is important.
Answers Vary
Which organisms make up the second level in an ecological pyramid?
primary consumers- herbivores
Which two types of factors affect carrying capacity?
density dependent factors and density independent
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
Explain the movement of water through the biosphere.
Answer must include condensation, precipitation, rock deep percolation, groundwater, surface water, transpiration, and evaporation
In which way is carbon REMOVED from the atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
gas to liquid
condensation
How is an ecosystem different from a community?
An ecosystem includes abiotic components of the environment, whereas communities include only living factors.
What are some ways in which carbon moves through the Earth (not in the atmosphere)?
Animals eat plants, Decomposition, Fossil Fuels
How is the phosphorus cycle different from other biogeochemical cycles?
Phosphorus doesn't cycle through the atmosphere.
What is the area around Earth called in which life can exist?
Biosphere
List two density dependent factors that can affect carrying capacity for an ecosystem.
disease, competition, predation, etc.
What do the arrows point towards in a food web or chain?
consumers
How do humans get nitrogen?
Eating plants
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 is the main source of energy for all organisms?
Solar Energy
Where is the Y axis located on a graph?
vertical axis
What is a food web?
A system of interconnected food chains.
What is an invasive species?
A non-native organism introduced into a new habitat/ecosystem.
What are two ways autotrophs make their own food?
photosynthesis and chemosynthesis
What is a carnivore?
A meat eater.
Why is biodiversity important?
Living organisms have different purposes and interdependent relationships exist among living and nonliving things.
What is a detritivore?
An organism that feeds on the remains of plants and animals.
How is energy transferred in an ecosystem?
From producer to consumer and up the ecological pyramid (one way)
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