Biology Flashcards
What is the atmosphere?
The atmosphere is the layer of gases surrounding the Earth. It consists of various gases, such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and others, and plays a crucial role in supporting life and regulating the Earth’s climate.
What is the lithosphere?
The lithosphere is the solid, outermost layer of the Earth. It includes the Earth’s crust and a portion of the upper mantle. The lithosphere is characterized by its rigid and solid nature and encompasses the landforms, rocks, minerals, and soil on Earth’s surface.
What is the hydrosphere?
The hydrosphere refers to all the water on Earth’s surface, including oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, groundwater, and atmospheric water vapor. It plays a vital role in various Earth processes and is essential for supporting life.
What is the biosphere?
The biosphere is the region of the Earth where life exists. It encompasses all living organisms, including plants, animals, and microorganisms, as well as their interactions with the environment.
What is the Gaia hypothesis?
The Gaia hypothesis, proposed by James Lovelock. The hypothesis proposes that the earth behaves like a living organism.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem refers to a community of living organisms, along with their physical environment, interacting as a functional unit. It includes both biotic factors (living organisms) and abiotic factors (non-living components) and involves various energy and nutrient flows.
What are biotic factors?
Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem. They include plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms that interact with each other and the environment.
What are abiotic factors?
Abiotic factors are the non-living components of an ecosystem. They include factors such as temperature, sunlight, water availability, soil composition, air quality, and other physical and chemical characteristics of the environment.
What is sustainability?
The ability to maintain an ecological balance.
What is photosynthesis?
Converts light energy to chemical energy
What are producers?
Producers, also known as autotrophs, are organisms that can synthesize their own food using sunlight (or other energy sources) and inorganic substances. They are the foundation of food chains/webs and include plants, algae, and some bacteria.
What are consumers?
Consumers, also known as heterotrophs, are organisms that obtain their energy by consuming other organisms. They cannot produce their own food and rely on consuming producers or other consumers. Consumers can be herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores.
What is cellular respiration?
Cellular respiration is the process by which cells break down organic molecules (such as glucose) and convert them into usable energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It occurs in the mitochondria of cells and is essential for the survival and functioning of organisms.
What is an ecological niche?
An ecological niche refers to the role and position of a species within its environment. It includes the specific habitat, resources utilized, interactions with other species, and the overall contribution to the ecosystem.
What is a herbivore?
A herbivore is an organism that primarily feeds on plants and plant-based materials. Herbivores obtain their energy and nutrients by consuming leaves, stems, roots, fruits, or other plant parts.
What is a carnivore?
A carnivore is an organism that primarily feeds on other animals. Carnivores obtain their energy and nutrients by consuming the flesh or body parts of other animals.
What is an omnivore?
An omnivore is an organism that has the ability to consume both plants and animals. Omnivores have a more varied diet and can obtain energy and nutrients from both plant-based and animal-based sources.
What is a scavenger?
A scavenger is an organism that feeds on dead or decaying organic matter. Scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem by helping to recycle nutrients from dead organisms back into the environment. Examples include vultures, hyenas, and certain types of insects.
What is a food chain?
A food chain is a linear representation of the transfer of energy and nutrients from one organism to another in an ecosystem. It shows the flow of energy as organisms are consumed by other organisms, with each level of the chain representing a different trophic (feeding) level.
What is a food web?
A food web is a more complex and interconnected representation of feeding relationships within an ecosystem. It consists of multiple interconnected food chains, illustrating the various paths of energy flow and the interactions between different organisms. Food webs provide a more realistic depiction of the complex nature of energy transfer in ecosystems.
What is a trophic level?
A trophic level refers to the position an organism occupies in a food chain or food web. It represents the organism’s feeding relationship and energy transfer within an ecosystem. The trophic levels are divided into producers (first trophic level), primary consumers (herbivores, second trophic level), secondary consumers (carnivores, third trophic level), and so on.
What is a pyramid of numbers?
A pyramid of numbers represents the number of individuals at each trophic level in an ecosystem. It shows the decreasing number of organisms as you move up the food chain, with producers forming the broad base and top-level consumers having the smallest number.
What is a pyramid of biomass?
A pyramid of biomass represents the total biomass (the mass of living organisms) at each trophic level in an ecosystem. It demonstrates the decreasing biomass as you move up the food chain since energy is lost as heat or is used for the organism’s metabolism.
What is a pyramid of energy?
A pyramid of energy represents the flow of energy through different trophic levels in an ecosystem. It shows the decreasing amount of energy available at each successive trophic level, with the most energy being available at the base (producers) and less energy at higher trophic levels.
What is a limiting factor?
A limiting factor is a factor or condition that limits the growth, abundance, or distribution of a population within an ecosystem. It can be an abiotic factor (such as temperature, water availability, or nutrient availability) or a biotic factor (such as competition or predation).
What is a tolerance range?
Tolerance range refers to the range of environmental conditions within which an organism can survive and function optimally. It includes the minimum and maximum levels of factors such as temperature, pH, humidity, and salinity that an organism can tolerate.
