Unit 1
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web (Page 54)
What type of species tends to produce many offspring, mature quickly, and, and have short lifespans? (Page 73 and 74)
What are 'r-selected species'?
What is the difference between weather and climate? (Page 95)
What is 'weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate refers to long-term average weather patterns in an area'?
What is clear-cutting? (Page 104)
What is 'a logging method in which most or all trees in an area are removed at the same time'?
What is eutrophication? (Page 170)
Why are producers considered the foundation of most ecosystems? (Page 52)
What is 'because they convert sunlight into usable energy through photosynthesis and supply energy to higher trophic levels'?
What does carrying capacity represent in a population? (Page 76 and 77)
What is 'the maximum population size an environment can sustainably support over time'?
What is 'global winds move warm air and cool air between regions, helping regulate Earth's climate and weather patterns'?
Why can agricultural runoff negatively impact nearby aquatic ecosystems? (Page 107)
Why can biomagnification be harmful? (Page 173)
What is 'toxins become more concentrated as they move up the food chain, causing greater harm to top predators?'
How does resource partitioning reduce competition between species in an ecosystem? (Page 326)
Why do populations typically slow down in growth after an initial period of rapid increase? (Page 77)
What is 'because of limiting facotrs such as food, space, disease, and competition increase as population size grows'?
How does El Nino affect ocean temperatures in the Pacific Ocean? (Page 96)
What is 'El Nino causes unusually warm surface waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean due to weakened trade winds'?
How does thermal pollution affect dissolved oxygen levels in water? (Page 171)
What is 'warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen, which can stress or kill aquatic organisms'?
Why do organisms at higher trophic levels usually have smaller populations than organisms at lower trophic levels? (Page 52)
What is 'because only 10% of energy is transferred between trophic levels, less energy is available to support organisms higher in the food chain'?
How do Type I survivorship curves differ form Type III survivorship curves? (Page 75)
What is 'Type I shows high survival in early life with steep decline later, wgule Type III shows high early mortality and few individuals surviving to adulthood'?
What causes Earth to experience different seasons throughout the year? (Page 94)
What is 'Earth's axial tilt and its revolution around the Sun cause different parts of Earth to receive varying amounts of solar radiation during the year'?
Why does overgrasing contribute to desertification? (Page 111)
What is 'overgrazing removes vegetation that protects soil, leading to erosion, nutrient loss, and drier conditions'?
Why is point source pollution generally easier to regulate than nonpoint-source pollution? (Page 165)
What is 'because point-source pollution comes froma single, identifiable location (like a pipe or factory), making it easier to monitor and control compared to diffuse nonpoint sources like agricultural runoff'?
An ecosystem has 50,000 kcal of energy available at the producer level. Based on the 10% rule, how much energy would be available to the: primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers? (Page 53)
Primary consumers: 5,000 kcal --> 50,000 * 0.1 = 5,000
Secondary consumers: 500 kcal --> 5,000 * 0.1 = 500
Tertiary consumers: 50 kcal --> 500 * 0.1 = 50
A population of deer increases from 500 to 800 individuals in one year. What is the percent growth rate? (Page 77)
60% growth rate
800 - 500 / 500 * 100 = 60%
A region normally receives 80 cm of rainfall annually. During a La Nina year, rainfall increases by 25%. How much rainfall does the region receive during the La Nina year? (Page 96)
100cm
80 + (80 * 0.25) = 100 cm
A farmer uses 240 liters of water per day for irrigation. By switiching to drip irrigation, water use decreases by 35%. How many liters of water are used per day after the decrease? (Page 108)
156 liters
240 - (240 *0.35) = 156
A lake has a dissolved oxygen level of mg/L. After thermal pollution, the dissolved oxygen decreases by 25%. What is the new dissovled oxygen level? (Page 170)
9 mg/L
12 - (12 * 0.25) = 9