Spheres & Cycles
A tree absorbs CO₂ and later a deer eats its leaves. Name the two carbon cycle processes involved.
Photosynthesis and assimilation
A biome has low precipitation, large daily temperature swings, and sparse vegetation. Identify the biome and one likely adaptation.
Desert; water conservation, nocturnal behavior, etc.
What are TWO words to describe organisms make their own food and form the base of most food webs?
Producers/autotrophs
What interaction occurs when both organisms benefit?
Mutualism
In an experiment, all plants receive the same light, soil, and pot size. What type of variables are these and why are they important in a controlled experiment?
Controlled variables; to ensure that only the independent variable is influencing a change in the dependent variable.
Explain why deforestation can make a forest shift from a carbon sink to a carbon source.
Less photosynthesis and more stored carbon released
Explain why adaptation and acclimation operate on different timescales.
Adaptations evolve across generations (survival of the fittest); acclimations occur within an individual’s lifetime
A rabbit eats grass and is eaten by a snake. What trophic level is the rabbit?
Primary consumer/second trophic level
What signs represent commensalism?
(+, 0)
A scientist measures plant height after changing fertilizer concentration. Identify the independent variable and the dependent variable.
IV fertilizer concentration; DV plant height
Which biogeochemical cycle has no major atmospheric phase, and which can be heavily impacted by human activity?
Phosphorus cycle has no major atmospheric phase, the carbon cycle can be heavily impacted by human activity.
A climograph shows cold winters, mild summers, and moderate precipitation. What biome is this most likely?
Temperate deciduous forest
A rabbit eats grass and is eaten by a snake. What would happen to the rabbit and grass populations if the snake population declined?
The rabbits would overpopulate, causing the grass population to decrease.
Two bird species use the same limited nesting sites. What interaction is occurring?
Competition
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A chain shows one pathway; a web shows multiple interconnected feeding pathways
Which nitrogen cycle process turns atmospheric N₂ into a usable form, and which process later turns ammonium into nitrates?
Nitrogen fixation; nitrification
An animal lowers activity and metabolism during unfavorable conditions. What is this process called and how does it increase odds of survival?
Dormancy; it reduces energy/resource demand and allows organisms to become inactive until conditions return favorable
A food web loses most of its producers. Predict one direct and one indirect effect.
Primary consumers decrease directly, which can cause secondary consumers to decline as well
A tick feeds on a deer. Name the interaction AND signs.
Parasitism, (+,-)
Name all five Earth spheres studied in this unit.
Atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, cryosphere
Trace nitrogen from the atmosphere into a plant using three processes in order.
Nitrogen fixation → nitrification → assimilation
Why can two locations at similar latitude still have different biomes?
Differences in precipitation, elevation, ocean influence, etc.
A secondary consumer has 900 kcal. Approximately how much energy was present in producers?
90,000 kcal
Parasitism and predation are both (+,-), but how are they different?
The end result: In predation, the prey dies, but in parasitism, the host is only harmed, not necessarily killed.
What were the three parts of the National Parks Project?
Part 1: Biome, climate & adaptations
Part 2: Species list, food chains & trophic pyramid
Part 3: Species interactions