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Earth System- 29992 > Biosphere 1 > Flashcards

Biosphere 1 Flashcards

1
Q

What is homeostasis?

A

Boundaries. The inside is different from what is outside
internal conditions have to be maintained

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2
Q

What is the structure like in life?

A

highly organised (not necessarily complex)

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3
Q

What is reproduction?

A

Makes copies. Some sort of information storage (e.g. DNA/RNA)

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4
Q

What stimuli does life respond to?

A

Growth
Metabolism
Adapt/evolve

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5
Q

What does growth do with materials?

A

uses outside materials which are incorporated into the organism

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6
Q

What is polymerisation?

A

Joining together of smaller molecules to larger chain-like molecules (organic matter)

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7
Q

What is crystallisation?

A

Packing of atoms or molecules in repeated patterns (inorganic matter)

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8
Q

What can organisms contain which is crystalline?

A

crystalline structures - bones and shells

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9
Q

What does polymerisation and crystallisation do with energy?

A

Polymerisation absorbs energy
Crystallisation releases energy

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10
Q

What is metabolism?

A

Chemical reaction(s) which an organism gets energy from

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11
Q

What is aerobic metabolism?

A

with oxygen

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12
Q

What is anaerobic metabolism?

A

oxygen free

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13
Q

What do autotrophs do with carbon?

A

fix it (store)

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14
Q

What are 2 examples of autotrophs?

A

Photoautotrophs (photosynthesis)
Chemoautotrophs (Chemosynthesis)

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15
Q

What do heterotrophs do with carbon?

A

respire pre existing organic carbon

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16
Q

What do primary producers do?

A

convert energy and inorganic compounds into biomass

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17
Q

What are the 3 steps of primary production?

A

1- autotroph produces organic matter
2- Some OM used as fuel for meta and resp
3- store OM carbon compound for future

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18
Q

What is the by-product of step 1 of primary production? (OM produced)

A

gross production

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19
Q

What is the name for the biomass leftover from step 3 of primary production?

A

Net production

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20
Q

What is thermodynamics? (metabolism in earth system)

A

energy taken from the environment

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21
Q

Why cant the biosphere sustain itself indefinelty?

A

There are losses down the food chain as energy is lost via processes like heating and respiration

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22
Q

What is the first law of thermodynamics?

A

energy is not created or destroyed, it only changes forms

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23
Q

What is the second law of thermodynamics?

A

he sum of the entropies of a system
and its surroundings must always increase (disorder always increasing)

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24
Q

What is entropy?

A

measure of randomness

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25
Q

What is Gibbs free energy?

A

the amount of energy left over after a chemical reaction has taken place

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26
Q

Why is Gibbs free energy used?

A

how energy of system changes from one state to another

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27
Q

How can life inhabit rocks?

A

being on, under or in

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28
Q

What are some examples of how life make rocks (minerals)?

A

Carbonates (calcite)
Sulfides (pyrite)
Metal oxides (magnetite)
Silicates (diatoms)
Phosphates (teeth, bones)

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29
Q

What are the 3 domains for the hierarchy of life?

A

Bacteria
Archaea
Eukarya

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30
Q

What are the characteristics of prokaryotes?

A

No nucleus

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31
Q

What are the characteristics of eukaryotes?

A

membrane bound to nucleus (many organelles)
May be multicellular

32
Q

What are some examples of Eukarya?

A

plants
animals
fungi
protists

33
Q

What are some examples of prokaryotes?

A

Bacteria
Archaea

34
Q

What is the Linnaean system of taxonomic classification?

A

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

35
Q

What multiple species concepts are there?

A

Biological
Phylogenetic
Morphological

36
Q

What is the biological multiple species concept?

A

reproductive isolation/ no successful breeding

37
Q

What are the cons of biological multiple species concept?

A

Only really makes sense for sexual reproduction
Anthropogenic disturbance

38
Q

What is the phylogenetic concept of multiple species?

A

accruing enough genetic distance

39
Q

What is the morphological multiple species concept?

A

Apperance

40
Q

What are the cons of the morphological multiple species concept?

A

Cryptic species (genetic and behavioural
differences

41
Q

What is abiogenesis?

A

making living organisms from non-living matter

42
Q

What does abiogenesis require?

A

Requires lots of steps, each increasing the organisation/complexity of the system, but with countless failures

43
Q

What did organic molecules originally have to be synthesised from?

A

earths earths chemical ingredients

44
Q

What are some of the most vital elements found in abundance on earths surface?

A

H, C, O, N, P, S

45
Q

What formed from the vital elements for life?

A

monomers- i.e. amino acids

46
Q

What are amino acids the building block for?

A

Polymers- more complex organic molecules

47
Q

Who did the primordial soup experiment?

A

Miller-Urey

48
Q

What was the point of the primordial soup experiment?

A

to produce amino acids from the vital life elements using gas and an energy spark

49
Q

What will happens to amino acids monomers at high concentrations?

A

polymerise (form DNA and RNA)

50
Q

How can polymerised amino acids be formed in the lab?

A

heating, evaporating, and concentrating an amino-acid-bearing solution

51
Q

What happens to artificial polymers if left in water?

A

will dilute as need a cell

52
Q

What happens when you agitate the artificial polymers?

A

will clump and make microspheres

53
Q

What are microspheres like?

A

crude delicate cell membrane
not robust

54
Q

What is the black smoker hypothesis?

A

Hydrothermal fluids have vital elements
Hydrothermal vent provide heat
Make monomers
Evapo not possible for polymers but maybe on clay mineral surface

55
Q

What is Panspermia?

A

organic molecules may have arrived from some part of the solar system or even the galaxy beyond the solar system

56
Q

What is LUCA?

A

Last Universal Common Ancestor

57
Q

What was first life more likely to be prokaryotic or eukaryotic?

A

Prokaryotic - archaea

58
Q

Why is archaea likely to have been first life?

A

most are extremophiles (tolerate temp, salinity and acid)

59
Q

Why is it hard to show archaea as early life?

A

no direct archaea fossils from Precambrian

60
Q

How can stromatolites be used for evidence of early earth life?

A

3.5 Ga
layered, domed
Macrofossil constructed by photosynthetic cyanobacteria

61
Q

How can graphite in Isua greenstone be evidence of early earth life?

A

graphite layers in 3.8 Ga isua greenstone enriched in C12
Potentially biogenic

62
Q

When did eukaryotes form from prokaryotes?

A

1.4 Ga

63
Q

What do eukaryotes require?

A

oxygen

64
Q

What was the reason for eukaryote rise?

A

sufficient molecular oxygen (toxic by product of photosynthesis)

64
Q

What is the first animal on earth thought to be?

A

sponge (evidence= sponge biomarkers)

65
Q

Why are sponges thought to be one of first animals?

A

can build up from cell level due to adhesive joining due to collagen

66
Q

What are some earth biosphere milestones?

A

Life origin
Photosynthesis origin
Multicellularity
Base Cambrian - Treptichnus pedum (burrow trace fossil)
Life on land - Devonian
Mineralising plankton- Mesozoic

67
Q

What was needed by first plant life on land which formed in the Devonian?

A

Structural support
Internal aquatic environment plus plumbing
Gas exchange mechanism
Moist reproductive environment

68
Q

What does evolution by natural selection act on?

A

individuals

69
Q

What does adaptation act on?

A

only on a population over generations not individuals

70
Q

What is the end result of evolution/ adaptation?

A

Speciation

71
Q

What are the 2 types of speciation?

A

Allopatric
Sympatric

72
Q

What is sympatric speciation?

A

reproductive isolation without geographic barrier

72
Q

What is allopatric speciation?

A

results from geographic barrier

73
Q

What is epigenetics?

A

How DNA interacts with multitude smaller molecules in cells activate and deactivate genes

74
Q

What can epigenetics do to transcription of specific genes?

A

Boost or interfere

75
Q

How do epigenetics interfere with gene transcription?

A

DNA coiled tighter making it inaccessible essentially muting it

Earth System- 29992 (24 decks)

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