Energy and Matter
Cycles
Populations
Biotic and Abiotic
Human Impact
100
Where does the energy for most ecosystems come from?
The Sun
100
Describe the journey of a raindrop that just fell to the ground
Travels by rivers/lakes to ocean, evaporates back into sky
100
What is a population?
The amount of one type of organism living in an area
100
What does biotic mean? Provide an example
Something that is living
100
What is a land use practice?
(bonus 200 for an example and an impact it can have on the environment)
A way that humans use the land
200
Why are decomposers so important?
Break stuff down so it can get re-used
200
What role do animals and decomposers play in the carbon cycle?
Take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide
200
What is an invasive species, and why are they bad for the environment?
A foreign species that takes over a native ecosystem, can kill native organisms
200
What does abiotic mean? Provide an example
Something that is not alive
200
What does biodegradable mean, and why is it better for the environment to use this kind of waste?
Can break down/decompose, trash won't build up
300
Where does most of the energy in an ecosystem end up?
Lost as heat, sound, or movement
300
How are humans interfering with the carbon cycle, and what is the consequence?
Releasing too much carbon dioxide, climate change
300
Provide three examples of limiting factors (bonus 100 if you name all 5)
Disease, predators, food supply, competition, environment
300
What is an ecosystem?
A combination of abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) things in one area
300
How is plastic recycling similar to the way nature recycles matter?
Both break down a material and use it to build new things, both are cycles
400
What percentage of energy would the snake receive in this energy pyramid?
0.1%
400
What role do plants play in the carbon cycle?
Take in oxygen and convert to carbon dioxide, take in carbon dioxide and use the carbon to make sugars
400
Which populations would be directly affected by a decrease in the grasshopper population? (bonus 100, which would go up and which would go down?)
Owls and birds (down), grass and grains (up)
400
How does the access to water affect the plants that live in the desert?
Have to be highly adapted to survive, fewer can live there
400
What consequence does too much fertilizer have on the environment?
Causes algae blooms in local waterways
500
How does matter pass through the biosphere?
Travels from plant to animal to decomposer to soil to plant again, cycles through
500
Name the 3 steps in the nitrogen cycle. (bonus 100 for the types of nitrogen compounds created)
Nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification
NH3, NO3-, NH4+
500
What is emigration?
When members of a population are leaving an area
500
What is biodiversity? (bonus 100 for each factor that affects it)
The amount of species in an area
Temperature, access to water, elevation, climate/weather
500
Name two ways to reduce the negative impact of mining
Re-use materials, use electric equipment, government restrictions and fines