Question: What term describes the number of individuals living in a certain amount of space?
Answer: What is population density?
Question: Water changes from liquid into water vapor and enters the atmosphere. What process is this?
Answer: What is evaporation?
Question: Carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor are all examples of what type of gas?
Answer: What are greenhouse gases?
Question: What term describes something that prevents a population from continuing to grow?
Answer: What is a limiting factor?
Question: Plants absorb phosphate compounds from soil and water. Which biogeochemical cycle does this belong to?
Answer: What is the phosphorus cycle?
Question: A rabbit population has plenty of food, water, and space, so its numbers increase very quickly. What type of growth is occurring?
Answer: What is exponential growth?
Question: Water vapor leaves a tree through its leaves and enters the atmosphere. What process is occurring?
Answer: What is transpiration?
Question: What term describes the amount of resources people use compared with how quickly those resources can be replaced?
Answer: What is an ecological footprint?
Question: What term describes the variety of living organisms found in an area?
Answer: What is biodiversity?
Question: A pond can normally support 200 fish. After the population grows above 200, competition for food increases. What ecological concept is being demonstrated?
Answer: What is carrying capacity?
Question: A deer population stops increasing because there is not enough food available. What is food in this situation?
Answer: What is a limiting factor?
Question: A thunderstorm produces lightning that helps make nitrogen available in a usable form. Which cycle is involved?
Answer: What is the nitrogen cycle?
Question: Scientists use bacteria to help clean hazardous chemicals from contaminated soil. What technique are they using?
Answer: What is bioremediation?
Question: What is the maximum population size that an environment can support over time?
Answer: What is carrying capacity?
Question: A new volcanic island forms from cooled lava. Years later, organisms begin colonizing the bare rock. What ecological process has begun?
Answer: What is primary succession?
Question: An island can support about 500 birds. When the population reaches this number, it begins to level off. What does 500 represent?
Answer: What is the carrying capacity?
Question: Over time, rocks break down and release phosphate compounds into the environment. Which cycle is this part of?
Answer: What is the phosphorus cycle?
Question: What term describes Earth's ability to continue maintaining its resources and balance over time?
Answer: What is sustainability?
Question: What do we call natural processes that move important substances between living organisms and the nonliving environment?
Answer: What are biogeochemical cycles?
Question: Humans cannot directly use most of the nitrogen gas in the atmosphere. According to this chapter, where do humans obtain the nitrogen they need?
Answer: From the food they eat
Question: A population's birth rate and death rate become approximately equal, causing the population size to remain fairly stable. What condition has the population reached?
Answer: What is population equilibrium?
Question: A car burns gasoline and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Which cycle is most directly involved?
Answer: What are the carbon and oxygen cycles?
Question: Two families have different lifestyles. One uses much more fuel, electricity, water, and other resources. Which family would have the larger ecological footprint?
Answer: The family that uses more resources.
Question: What type of succession begins in an area where a major disturbance has left little or no existing soil?
Answer: What is primary succession?
Question: A scientist studies water moving through plants, carbon moving through organisms, and nitrogen moving through soil bacteria. What major idea connects all three processes?
Answer: They are all parts of biogeochemical cycles, which involve both biotic and abiotic factors