Biomass And Energy Topic Flashcards
What are Food chains?
They show the feeding relationships between living things (what eats what I’m a particular habitat)
What are pyramids of biomass?
Reveal the mass of living materials at each stage in a chain. The amount of material and energy decreases from one stage to the next
What is the ultimate source of energy?
The sun
How do plants and algae get their energy?
They absorb some of the Suns light energy and converts into chemical energy during photosynthesis
Where is the chemical energy in?
In substances which makes up the cells of the plants or algae
What are consumers?
They get all their energy and biomass by consuming other organisms
What are producers?
Green plants and algae and make food by photosynthesis
What are primary consumers
Usually eat plant material (herbivores) rabbits, caterpillars, cows
What are secondary consumers?
Usually eat animal material- carnivores cats dogs lions
What are predators?
Kill for food (either secondary or tertiary consumers)
What are prey?
The animals that predators feed on
What are scavengers?
They feed on dead animals crows, vultures, hyenas
What are decomposers ?
Feed on dead and decaying organisms and on the undigested parts of plant and animal matter in faeces
What ways are energy released?
By respiration used for movement and other life processes and is eventually lost as heat to the surroundings
Energy is lost in waste materials such as faeces
With ways in which energy is used, where does the energy return?
Returns to the environment and is not available for the next stage
Which energy is available for the next stage?
Available energy that goes into growth and the production of offspring
What does the biomass mean?
Means the mass of living material at a stage in a food chain
What is the decay process ?
An essential life process that digests food or waste matter and recycles materials.
Why do living things decay?
Because they are digested by microorganisms. These cause decay by releasing enzymes that break down compounds to be absorbed by their cells
What are the main groups of decomposer?
Bacteria and fungi
Factors that affect the Rate of decay
Moisture
Temperature
Amount of available oxygen
What is the carbon cycle?
Shows how carbon moves from the atmosphere through various animals and plants then back into the atmosphere again
