Classifications & The Spheres
Give an example of an abiotic and biotic factor that can be found in a desert.
Abiotic (non-living) - air, sand, rocks; Biotic (living) - Snake, cactus
Give an example of both weather and climate using a description about rain.
It rained 2.5 inches today (weather). It rains most in Seattle during the winter.
How is a food web different from a food chain?
A food web shows many overlapping food chains
What is biomass and how does it change as you move up an energy pyramid?
Biomass is the mass of organisms by amount of tissue. As you move up an energy pyramid, there are less organisms and therefore less biomass
How does nitrogen in the atmosphere eventually become useful for humans?
Through nitrogen fixation by bacteria in the soil, atmospheric nitrogen is turned into ammonia. This ammonia is then converted into nitrate and nitrite which can be absorbed by plants in the soil. Plants are at the bottom of the food chain for any organisms a human will consume.
At which level of organization are the species all alike?
population or community?
Population
Give a characteristic of each of the world’s biomes:
1. tundra
2. taiga
3. grasslands,
4. deciduous forest
5. savanna
6. chaparral
7. rainforest
8. desert
9. alpine
•Tundra – cold, treeless, ground permanently frozen
•Taiga – cold, animals hibernate, largest biome, coniferous trees
•Grasslands – large, rolling terrain, many grasses, few trees, fire
•Deciduous Forest – Four distinct seasons, many trees, camouflage
•Savanna – grassland, few trees, little rainfall, tropical climate
•Chaparral – hot and dry, mild winter, fire and drought is common
•Rainforest – year-round warmth, near equator, rainy & dry seasons
•Desert – cold or hot/dry, little vegetation, nocturnal animals
•Alpine – mountainous, cold, small vegetation, animals have insulation
What type of organism do all heterotrophs depend on for energy?
Autotrophs, which obtain their energy from the sun or chemical compounds
How does the flow of energy differ from the flow of matter through an ecosystem?
Energy is a one-way flow and must be constantly added. Matter is recycled.
How are humans negatively altering the three cycles that we have learned about?
Fertilizers overload ecosystems with too much nitrogen and phosphorus.
Human burning of fossil fuels has added too much carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
As forests are destroyed, carbon cannot be removed from the atmosphere as quickly. This extra carbon dissolves in the oceans, causing them to be more acidic.
At which level of organization are abiotic factors first included?
Ecosystem
What causes various weather patterns around the globe?
Uneven heating of the earth by the sun causes different climates and global winds. Rising and cooling air cause areas of high pressure (prevents rainfall) and low pressure (produces rainfall).
How much chemical energy is transferred from the producers to each of the following levels in a food chain:
Primary consumers?
Secondary consumers?
Tertiary consumers?
Primary - 10%, Secondary - 1%, Tertiary 0.1%
How is phosphorus accessed by organisms?
Phosphorus is found in rocks. When they are weathered through rain or erosion, phosphorus can enter bodies of water or soil.
Compare and contrast the diets of herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores.
They all rely on producers for their energy, none of them can make their own food. Carnivores eat meat, herbivores eat plants, and omnivores eat both.
Give two examples of how the spheres of the earth might interact:
• Biosphere
• Geosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Atmosphere
a human (biosphere) is impacted by air quality (atmosphere) while humans also impact air quality by the choices they make
rain falls and grows the grass, a cow eats the grass and exhales CO2
Sketch a simple food chain with 4 trophic levels.
Start with a producer, and then include 3 more levels: a primary, secondary and tertiary consumer
Compare and contrast the quick and slow carbon cycles.
Both cycles recycle carbon in the atmosphere.
The quick cycle happens through photosynthesis and respiration. Carbon is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis and released by plants in respiration.
The slow cycle occurs when carbon is dissolved into oceans and converted into fossil fuels, which is then released through volcanoes or man made combustion.
Why are fewer organisms found at higher trophic levels?
Much of the energy of organisms is lost as heat in the lower trophic levels.
How is the phosphorus cycle different from the nitrogen and carbon cycles?
The phosphorus cycle does not involve the atmosphere.