Energy Flow
What is the primary source of energy for nearly all ecosystems?
What is the Sun?
This process recycles carbon dioxide during the carbon cycle.
What is respiration?
What type of relationship exists between a lion and a zebra?
What is predator-prey?
What is one way humans negatively affect biodiversity?
What is habitat destruction, deforestation, burning fossil fuels, etc.
Come to the board and draw a simple food chain using 3 organisms.
What is any sequence like grass → rabbit → fox?
This process converts solar energy into chemical energy in plants.
What is photosynthesis?
What role do decomposers play in matter cycling?
What is breaking down dead organisms and returning nutrients to the soil?
Define carrying capacity.
What is the maximum population size an environment can support?
Name a solution to reduce the impact of plastic pollution on ecosystems.
What is banning single-use plastics or increasing recycling efforts?
Come to the board and draw a pyramid model to show biomass at different trophic levels. Include producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, and tertiary consumer.
What is a triangle with producers at the bottom and decreasing levels above?
Only about this percentage of energy is passed from one trophic level to the next.
What is 10%?
Name a processes that can return carbon to the atmosphere.
What is cellular respiration?
What is combustion?
What are volcanic eruptions?
Give an example of a competitive relationship in an ecosystem
What is two species competing for space?
What is two males competing for a mate?
What is two species competing for food?
How does deforestation affect the carbon cycle?
What is it reduces carbon uptake and increases atmospheric CO₂ levels?
List 3 parts of the carbon cycle.
What is photosynthesis → animals → respiration → decomposition/combustion?
Explain why energy pyramids get smaller at the top.
What is because energy is lost as heat at each trophic level?
Describe how nitrogen becomes usable for plants.
What is nitrogen fixation by bacteria?
How do predator-prey relationships help maintain stability?
What is they regulate population sizes, preventing overgrazing or overpopulation?
Give an example of how human activity can lead to ecosystem collapse.
What is overfishing causing marine food webs to collapse?
Come to the board and draw a graph to represent the carrying capacity of an organism,
What is use a graph showing population leveling off when resources become scarce?
Describe the possible path of energy from the Sun to a hawk in a grassland ecosystem. I need 5 trophic levels.
What is Sun → grass → grasshopper → mouse → hawk?
Briefly explain how the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles interact in an ecosystem.
What is they all move matter between living organisms and the environment, supporting life processes?
List 3 limiting factors that affect population growth.
What are competition, predator-prey relationships, natural disasters (tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires, volcanic eruptions), disease, etc.
Give me an example of how humans can restore biodiversity?
What is reforestation, using electric cars, using renewable energy, etc.?
What would happen if the top predator (tertiary consumer) in an organism increased drastically?
What is the secondary consumer population would decrease, and the rest of the food chain would be disrupted?