Trophic Levels
This type of organism starts the energy flow in an ecosystem by converting sunlight into food.
What is a producer?
This kingdom includes single-celled organisms without a nucleus.
What are bacteria?
This type of reproduction produces genetically identical offspring.
What is asexual reproduction?
This system moves oxygen through the body.
What is the circulatory system?
This term describes the area of land that drains into a specific water system.
What is a watershed?
The percentage of energy transferred between each trophic level is typically around this amount.
What is 10%
The first part of an organism's scientific name in the taxonomic system.
What is the genus?
In sexual reproduction, genetic variation occurs through this process.
What is combining genetics from two parents.
Describe the organization from smallest to largest: cells, tissues, organs, systems.
What is: Cells combine to form tissues, tissues form organs, organs form organ systems.
Name two human activities that can negatively impact groundwater.
What are: pollution, excessive water extraction, chemical dumping
Explain how energy decreases as it moves up in an energy pyramid.
What is: Each level loses about 90% of energy through heat, metabolism, and movement, so less energy is available at higher levels.
Explain how scientists use similarities and differences to categorize organisms.
What is: They examine physical characteristics, genetic makeup, evolutionary relationships to group similar organisms together.
Explain how natural selection impacts trait occurrence in a population.
What is: Organisms with beneficial traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing those traits to offspring.
Explain how the nervous system coordinates body functions.
What is: Sends electrical signals between brain, spinal cord, and body parts to control movement and responses.
Explain how human activities affect ocean ecosystems.
What is: Overfishing, pollution, climate change disrupting marine habitats.
Describe how a food chain demonstrates energy transfer from producers to top predators.
What is: Energy flows from grass (producer) → grasshopper (primary consumer) → mouse (secondary consumer) → owl (top predator), with energy decreasing at each step.
Describe the characteristics that distinguish fungi from other kingdoms.
What is: Decomposers, have cell walls, cannot produce their own food, absorb nutrients from environment.
Compare and contrast asexual and sexual reproduction in terms of genetic diversity.
What is: Asexual creates identical clones, sexual creates unique combinations increasing genetic variation.
Describe the interconnected functions of the circulatory and respiratory systems.
What is: Lungs oxygenate blood, heart pumps oxygenated blood to body, removes carbon dioxide.
Describe the potential long-term consequences of groundwater contamination.
What is: Reduced drinking water quality, health risks, ecosystem damage.
Create a detailed diagram showing energy flow and percentage loss between trophic levels.
Acceptable answer includes labeled pyramid with percentages showing energy transfer/loss between producers, primary/secondary/tertiary consumers.
Create a detailed classification system for a hypothetical organism, showing all taxonomic levels.
Acceptable answer includes kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species with reasoning for placement.
Design an experiment demonstrating how artificial selection changes trait occurrence over generations.
Acceptable answer includes controlled breeding, trait tracking, generational changes.
Create a detailed model showing how multiple body systems work together.
Acceptable answer demonstrates complex interactions between at least 3-4 body systems.
Design a comprehensive plan to protect a watershed from human environmental impact.
Acceptable answer includes multiple strategies for conservation, pollution prevention, sustainable practices.