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Biology 1, 2 + 3 > Biology 3: Life On Earth > Flashcards

Biology 3: Life On Earth Flashcards

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1
Q

Species

A

Basic categories of biological classification, composed of individuals that resemble one another, can breed among themselves, but cannot be like the members of species

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2
Q

Habitat

A

The physical surroundings of an organism

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3
Q

Adaptation

A

The way in which species changes over time to become better able to survive in its environment

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4
Q

How do organisms thrive in where they live

A

The organisms that live in a habitat are dependent on their environment and other species living there. They depend on other species for food and compete with each other resources

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5
Q

Habitat

A

The physical surroundings of an organism

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6
Q

Competition

A

Result of more that one organism needing the same source, which may be in short supply

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7
Q

How are feeding relationships shown

A

The feeding relationships of organisms are shown in a food web

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8
Q

How do feeding relationships and habitats link

A

The feeding relationships or organisms in a habitat are often complex. They depend on each other, often in ways other than just providing food. This is called interdependence

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9
Q

Interdependence

A

Relationship between several organisms that depend on one another

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10
Q

How does interference affect a species

A

Because of their interdependence, any change that affects one species in a food web is likely to affect all species in that food web

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11
Q

How can an animal become extinct

A

A species can become extinct of it is unable to adapt tabloid lay to a change in environment e.g climate change

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12
Q

Extinct

A

A species that no longer survives

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13
Q

How does the removal of habitats affect species of

A

Removal of habitats due to human activity threatens species, e.g the Siberian tiger and mountain gorilla

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14
Q

How can the introduction of a new spices lead to extinction

A

The introduction of a new species can lead to extinction of the species is a competitor, predator or causes disease

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15
Q

How can extinction affect different organisms

A

The extinction of a species in a habitat will affect other organisms in the food web and may cause them also become extinct

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16
Q

What are nearly all organisms dependent on

A

Nearly all organisms on earth are dependent on the energy from the sun

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17
Q

How do plants use photosynthesis

A
  • Plants abort a small percentage of the energy from sunlight to produce their own food by photosynthesis.
  • Plants restore this energy in chemicals that makes up the plants’ cells and tissues
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18
Q

Photosynthesis

A

Process carried out but green plants in which sunlight, carbon dioxide and water used to produce glucose and oxygen

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19
Q

How do it her organisms get their energy from the Sun

A

Other organisms get their energy by eating plants. Almost every food chain begins with a plant absorbing energy from the sun

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20
Q

What is transferred through the food chain

A

Energy is transferred form one organism to the next along a food chain

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21
Q

Describe the energy Change throughout each organism in the food chain

A

Only a small percentage of the energy transferred remains in each organism’s body. In the transfer from a plant to an animal, some energy is lost because:
• some parts of the plant aren’t eaten or can be digested by the animal.
• the animal uses some of the plants energy for respiration. During respiration, some energy is lost as heat
• the waste products of an animal, for instance urine, contain some energy

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22
Q

Why are the length of food chains limited

A

Energy is lost at each level of a food chain. So the length of food chains is limited - they are rarely longer that four or five organisms

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23
Q

How do calculate the efficiency of energy transfer at any level using the equation

A

Percentage efficiency= (energy in tissues x energy as food eaten) x 100

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24
Q

How does energy transfer efficiency continue after an organism dies

A

Energy transfer continues after an organisms has died. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi feed on dead or decaying organisms, called decomposers

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25
Q

Decomposers

A

In a food chain, an organism such as fungus that uses materials from dead or decaying matter

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26
Q

What are detritus

A

Partly decayed material

27
Q

Detrivores

A

In a food chain, an organism such as an earthworm that breaks down dead or decaying matter into smaller particles

28
Q

Why is carbon important

A

Carbon is the key element of the chemicals that make up all living things. It is continually recycled through the carbon cycle

29
Q

Explain the carbon cycle

A
  1. Carbon enters the carbon checked as carbon dioxide from the air plants fix this carbon, so that it can be used and sores by organism for photosynthesis
  2. Carbon is returned to the air in the following ways:
    - as a product of respiration, when plants and animals release energy from food
    - through the decomposition of dead organisms by soil microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi
    - by combustion of organic material
30
Q

Why is the nitrogen cycle important to animals and plants

A
  1. Plants take up nitrogen from the soil through their roots, in the form of nitrogen compounds including nitrates. These are converted into proteins
  2. Protein is important nutrient in animals’ diets. It passes along food chains as animals eat plants and other animals
  3. Nitrates are released back into the soil as animals excrete waste, and as plants and animals die and are decomposed by microorganisms
31
Q

Name the two ways in which nitrogen enters the nitrogen cycle

A
  1. Nitrogen molecules in the air age split by lightning. Nitrogen atoms the combine with oxygen in the air to form nitrates, which are washed into the soil by rain
  2. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, found in the soil and in the roots of leguminous plants such as bean and peas, convert nitrogen in the air into nitrates
32
Q

How does nitrogen leave the nitrogen cycle

A

Nitrogen leaves the nitrogen cycle when denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates in the soil into nitrogen gas. This process is called denitrification.

33
Q

How is environmental change measured

A

Environmental change is measure using:

  • non-living indicators, e.g. carbon dioxide levels, temperature and nitrate levels
  • living indicators, e.g. phytoplankton (microscopic aquatic plant-like organisms), lichens (dual organisms made up of a fungus and alga living together) and aquatic organisms such as mayfly larvae
34
Q

Biotic index

A
  1. Scientist monitor environmental change from a local through to a global scale
  2. Observation of some living indicators can give us very precise information about levels of pollution and environmental change. This is called biotic index. E.g. mayfly larvae need high levels of oxygen in the water, so will indicators very low levels of pollution
35
Q

How does non-living indicator data benefit scientists

A
  1. Interpretation of data from non-living indicators and living indicators helps scientists to monitor environmental change and trends over a period of time.
  2. Measurements using non-living indicators, e.g. CO₂ in air and water, are monitored continuously. We can also look at historical levels from CO₂ trapped in ice.
36
Q

Evolution

A

Change in species over a long period of time

37
Q

What is the relationship between variation and evolution

A

The changes involved begin with variation between individuals. Variation has has genetic and environmental causes

38
Q

Where are evidence of animals found

A
  1. Evidence of how organisms changed over time is found in fossils. Fossils are the remains of organisms, or other traces of their lives such as footprints or eggs, that have turned to rock.
  2. Scientists can date fossils from the layer of rock they are found in.
39
Q

What is and what are the properties of a mutation

A
  1. A mutation is a change in the genetic information in a cell. A mutation will result in a change in the characteristics
  2. Mutations can occurs DNA is copied during the production of new cells.
  3. If a mutation occurs as sex cells are produced, the mutation is passed to the offspring
  4. Most mutations are harmful, by sometimes new, useful characteristics are produced. Useful mutations will be passed throughout the population
40
Q

Gene pool

A

The complete set of alleles in a populations; a larger results in greater genetic variation

41
Q

Fossil record

A

The information obtained over the years from fossil collections

42
Q

How does genetic variation benefit organisms

A

Because of tentative variation, some individuals will have characteristics that give them a better chance of survival than others.

43
Q

Natural selection

A

Process by which characteristics that can be passed on in genes become more common. In a pollution over many generations (which are likely to give the organism an advantage that makes it more likely to survive)

44
Q

Selective breeding

A

Choosing organisms with desired characteristics to breed with one another

45
Q

Name the ways that humans have been involved in selective breeding

A
  1. Choosing the individuals with the characteristics that are closest to those required
  2. Breeding these (and preventing other individuals from breeding)
  3. Repeating the process over several generations
46
Q

Why is natural selection important part of the evolutionary process?

A

It residents in an organism that is better able to survive in terms of:

  1. Reproduction, which will lead to an increase in the number of individuals displaying the characteristics in later generations
  2. Competition with other animals, e.g. catching food, escaping predators, resistance to disease
47
Q

How does evolutionary change take place

A
  1. Over a long period of time advantageous genes chosen by natural selection are likely to become the norm in the population.
  2. However, natural selection can be seen in operation over short periods of time. E.g the development of bacteria slushy have become resistant to antibiotics
48
Q

Name the 2 factors that influences the rate at which evolution takes place

A
  1. When the environment changes, only those organisms that are best adapted, or can re-adapt, will survive
  2. If organisms become isolated, for instance in an island, natural selection will act independently on the different populations. Over time the populations will become distinct and no longer able to reproduce with each other. They will be new species
49
Q

In the search for evidence, how do scientists investigate the relationship between organisms?

A
  1. Examining the fossil record
  2. Observing similarities and differences in physical features, e.g. skeletons, flowers
  3. Analysing DNA sequences (more closely related organisms have more DNA sequences in common)
50
Q

What evidence is their to support the theory of evolution

A
  1. The simplest organisms are found in the earliest rocks
  2. More recent fossils have features that look like adaptations or developments of those of older organisms
  3. DNA analysis of today’s organisms has confirmed prediction made from the fossil record, including when branches in the tree of life occurred
51
Q

Explain the theory of evolution

A
  1. The theory of of evolution was proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfre Russel Wallace in 1859.
  2. The theory was based on Darwin’s observations on the Galápagos Islands. The islands are volcanic, so organisms on the islands must have arrived, at some point, from the mainland
  3. Darwin observed that organisms, which as mockingbirds, were similar but had slight differences to those on the mainland. The mockingbirds were also different from one island to the next.
  4. Drawings idea that species were not fixed, but could change over time, was the result of his observations and his creative thinking
  5. By contrast m, there was no evidence to support Larmarck’s theory. Larmarck suggested that animals acquired characteristics during their lifetime that were then passed on to their offspring
52
Q

Biodiversity

A

The variety in terms of number and range of different life forms in an ecosystem

53
Q

What 3 factors come under biodiversity

A
  1. The number of different species
  2. The range of different rules of organisms, e.g. plants, animals, microorganisms
  3. The genetic diversity (variation) within each species
54
Q

Name a habitats with a very high biodiversity and what they are used for

A

Tropical rainforests and could be valuable to us as food crops or Medicines

55
Q

Mass extinction event

A

The extinction of a large number of species at the same time

56
Q

Why are species becoming extinct

A
  1. Species are now becoming extinct more rapidly than at any other time, except for mass extinction events seen in the fossil record. It is thought that this is connected with human activity, as organisms are hunted and their habitats are destroyed.
  2. Climate change will accelerate this rate of extinction
57
Q

How are organisms classified

A
  1. A kingdom is a large group with many organisms but fewer characteristics in common
  2. Moving down from the kingdom, the groups get smaller and have fewer organisms with more characteristics in common
  3. The level identifying the individual type of organism is the species
58
Q

Sustainability

A

Measure of whether a resource or process we use now will still be able to be used by future generations

59
Q

How does sustainability affect biodiversity

A

To ensure sustainability, we need to maintain biodiversity. The loss of a single species removes a food supply and can have a big impact on the whole ecosystem

60
Q

What is Intensive monoculture crop production

A

Maximises crop yields but it is not sustainable. It reduces the biodiversity of the field by: growing just one crop species; removing hedgerows to create huge fields for planting; spraying crops with herbicides and pesticides

61
Q

Name 3 ways that we can improve sustainability in product manufacture

A
  1. Using as little energy as possible and animal packaging
  2. Using locally available materials and limiting transport of the product
  3. Creating as little pollution as possible
62
Q

How does the life cycle assessment track the environmental impact of a product

A

Sourcing of raw materials ➡️ manufacture ➡️ transport ➡️ use ➡️ disposal

63
Q

Biodegradable

A

A material that can be broken down by microorganisms

64
Q

What is the disadvantage of biodegradable packaging

A

It’s is best to reduce all types of packaging, as even biodegradable materials break down very slowly, in landfill sites, produce carbon dioxide, and require energy to produce and transport

Biology 1, 2 + 3 (3 decks)

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