Ecosystems, Energy, & Nutrients
Photosynthesis
Food Chains & Food Webs
Ecosystem Balance
Cycles and Such
10
What is the definition of the word ecosystem?
All living things in an area plus the non-living surroundings
10
Define photosynthesis.
The process used by producers to convert sunlight energy into chemical energy.
10
A food chain must have at least these three things: __, __, and __.
producer, herbivore, and one or more carnivores
10
Give two examples of how an ecosystem can become out-of-balance.
a new predator enters the ecosystem,
famine/drought/habitat destruction,
a predator leaves the ecosystem,
new habitat becomes available, etc.
10
What's the word for the increase in toxin levels going up a food chain?
biomagnification or bioaccumulation
20
What are the three main roles in an ecosystem?
Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers
20
Using words, what are the products of photosynthesis?
glucose and oxygen
20
What's the name of a consumer without predators?
apex predator
20
What are the three types of interactions in an ecosystem?
competition, predator-prey, symbiosis
20
Draw me a picture of the carbon-oxygen cycle, and include labels.
30
What are the different kinds of consumers called?
Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores
30
Using words, what are the reactants of photosynthesis?
water and carbon dioxide
(optional: sunlight)
30
What's the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain shows the flow of energy in just one direction (from a producer to an herbivore to at least one carnivore).
A food web is all of the overlapping food chains in an ecosystem (ALL of the producers, herbivores, and carnivores).
30
Think about the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction video, and explain one thing that happened and why.
Answers will vary, so have the person next to you read/score your answer
wolves removed and deer and moose populations changed dramatically, birds left, the landscape changed, etc.
30
What are the 6 parts of the water cycle that we have discussed?
In any order:
precipitation, run-off, filtration, evaporation, transpiration, and condensation
40
In order of lowest to highest, what are the five levels of higher organization in ecology?
individual organism (or species), population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
40
What is the name for the process where primary producers use something other than sunlight to make energy, and where can they be found?
chemosynthesis
in the dark zone of the oceans, caves
40
Give me an example of a food chain that has four organisms in it.
Answers vary but must start with a producer, an herbivore, a primary carnivore, and a secondary carnivore.
Turn to your neighbor and have her check your answer.
40
What is an invasive species, and why is it a problem?
An organism that is introduced into an area where it is not naturally found and creates imbalance in the ecosystem (it has no native predators, can out-compete native species, it reproduces rapidly, etc.)
40
How do nutrients move in an ecosystem? Provide details.
Nutrients cycle into and out of producers, consumers, and decomposers. They go from producers to consumers and decomposers, from consumers to decomposers and producers, and from decomposers to producers and consumers (it's cyclical between two roles)
50
Explain why a decomposer is NOT a consumer.
They cannot be the same because they are two separate roles in the ecosystem. Decomposers absorb (not digest) energy and nutrients.
50
Using chemical formulae, write a balanced equation for photosynthesis.
50
What happens to energy as it moves up an energy pyramid? Provide details in your answer!
The amount of energy decreases by 90% at each trophic level. Only 10% of the energy passes up to the next level because most of the energy is lost as heat and waste.
50
Draw me a picture that shows a change in population growth rate, with periods of positive, negative, and neutral (no) growth.
Your image should show an x- and y-axis with a line graph that has (in part) a positive slope, a negative slope, and a section that is flat.
50
Which would have a bigger impact on an ecosystem:
a) removing an apex predator,
b) removing a producer,
c) removing an herbivore, or
d) can't tell - they are all big deals!
They are all big deals, so there's really no way to know which would have a bigger impact.