Ecosystems
What is the role of a decomposer in an ecosystem?
Breaking down dead organisms and recycling nutrients.
These factors in a food pyramid are non living
abiotic
What is the process called when water turns into a gas due to heat?
Evaporation
What is the term for the salt content in a sample of water?
Salinity
This happens when water vapor turns into liquid.
Condensation
What is the name for the ecosystem that contains mainly coniferous plants?
Taiga
This is the term for an organism at the top of the food pyramid
Apex Predator / Quaternary Consumer
This is the term for where groundwater is held.
Aquifers
What does pH measure?
Acidic or basic levels in a water sample.
What is the term that matches this definition:
All of Earth's water, including that in oceans, rivers, lakes, and the atmosphere.
These limit the amount of organisms that are able to live in an ecosystem at any given point in time.
Limiting factors
What does the energy in a food pyramid do as it travels from the bottom to the top?
Energy decreases
What percentage of the Earth's water is nondrinkable?
70%
What are the 6 tests we can take to measure the quality of a water sample?
Dissolved O2
Turbidity
pH test
Nitrates
Phosphates
Temperature
What is turbidity?
This is the measure of the clearness of water. NOT THE CLEANLINESS OF WATER. Turbidity is the measure of particles or sediment in a water sample that cause it to be opaque.
This is the term for the maximum amount of a population an ecosystem can hold at a certain point in time
CARRYING CAPACITY
Plants and animals
What is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth?
Glaciers and Ice Caps
Explain Eutrophication. What happens to an ecosystem when this process occurs?
Eutrophication is the process of overgrowth of algae or algal blooms due to excess nutrients in runoff. These can be things like nitrates and phosphates from a by farm. This overgrowth causes the algae to create a barrier between the sunlight and the rest of the organisms, causing what is in the water to lose oxygen and die.
What is the definition for dissolved oxygen? How does the DO content change if water is moving?
The percentage of oxygen in a water sample. O2 increases if water is moving.
OPEN ENDED QUESTION
everyone on the team must get this question correct in order for the team to win the points
create a food pyramid for a rainforest ecosystem. It must have the correct number of levels, and one organism example for each level.
List the 5 trophic levels in a food pyramid
Producer
Primary Consumer
Secondary Consumer
Tertiary Consumer
Quaternary Consumer/Apex Predator
Bill is a shark that is swimming in the ocean. He decides one day that he is cold, and begins to swim to the surface. Bill notices that when he is up there, he cannot breathe as well. Why?
The water is warmer as you get closer to the surface, and thus holds less oxygen. Colder water holds more oxygen, which is why Bill is able to breathe better when he is in deeper water.
Aniyah is measuring the quality of a water sample. These are her results:
Turbidity: 20 JTU
pH: 9.3
Phosphate: 4 ppm
Nitrates: 4 ppm
Dissolved O2: 45%
Where do you think Aniyah got this water sample from? Why?
Answers will vary.
The best answer we are looking for is near a farm due to the low turbidity, high alkaline and nitrates and phosphate content, and low DO.
OPEN ENDED QUESTION
EVERYONE MUST ANSWER THIS QUESTION,
AND GET IT CORRECT
FOR THE TEAM TO WIN THE POINT
Explain how most of the world's water is inaccessible for humans to use.