Biosphere Unit Test Flashcards
Environment…
Biotic
Living (or once living) parts of the environment
Ex. Flies, treelog, tadpoles, fish, snail
Environment…
Abiotic
Non-living parts of the environment (still have an impact)
They include chemical & physical components.
Ex. Sun, water, soil
Pg.8 (Textbook)
Dynamic Equilibrium
Any system with constant changes in which the parts can adjust to the changes without disturbing the entire system.
Species
Organisms that are able to breed with one another & produce fertile offspring (Of the same organism)
Population
- A group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area at the same time.
- Influenced by its immediate environment.
Community
- Populations of different species interact with one another as part of a community.
- Consists of all of the individuals in all of the interacting populations in a given area.
- Biotic organisms living together
Ecosystem
- A community of populations, together with the abiotic factors that surround & affect it.
- The functional unit of the biosphere.
Biosphere.
All the ecosystem in the world & their interactions.
Indicator Species
- An organism that can be used to monitor the health of an ecosystem.
- Any change in the populaton size of this organims can give info about the conditions of the ecosystem (Where it lives)
- Often used as an “early warning system”
- A species sensitive to small changes in environmental conditions.
* Ex. Frogs
What do all Organisms Need?
All organisms need energy.
Uses of Energy
Growth, Reproduction, Movement, Maintaing Body Processes
Producers
- Organims that use the sun;s energy to produce food for themselves.
A.K.A. Autotrophs
Ex. Plants, Algae, phytoplankton
Energy Storage & Production
Energy is released in the bodies of organisms from carbohydrates & other eergy-rich organic molecules.
Consumers
- Organims that consume (eat) other organsims to get energy-rich molecules
- A.K.A. Heterotrophs
- Ex. Panda, Humans
Energy From The Sun
- Sun is the source of energy for producers.
- About 10^23J of the sun’s radiant energy reaches the Earth’s surface each day.
What do Producers Get?
- Of the energy that reaches the ground, only a small amount can be used by producers, and only a small amount of that can be used by photosynthesis
- ~1-2% of radiant energy from the sun is converted into chemical energy through photosynthesis
Where does radiant energy from the Sun go?
- ~30% of the energy is reflected from clouds, particles in the atmosphere, or from land or the surface of the ocean back into space
This is called ALBEDO - ~19% is absorbed by gases such as water vapour & Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
This will HEAT the atmosphere & some will go back into space - ~51% reach the Earth’s surface
Warms the planet, some radiants upwards into the atmosphere & out into space
Photosynthesis Equation:
Carbon Dioxide + Water = Glucose + Oxygen
What about the deepest part of the ocean?
Problem: NO sunlight
Solutions: Chemosynthetic producers
Chemosynthesis
- Similar to Photosynthesis
- The process by which non-photosynthetic organisms convert inorganic chemicals to organic compounds (Food, glucose) without solar energy (Sun’s energy).
- Happens in ecosystems like caves or the deep oceans where there is NO sunlight.
Chemoautotroph
- An organism that can synthesize organic compounds from inorganic chemicals without using solar energy
- Ex. Bacteria, Archaea, Microorganisms
Cellular Respiration Equation
Glucose + Oxygen = Carbon Dioxide + Water + ATP
What are the 3 Types of Consumers?
Herbivores, Carnivores, Omnivores
Herbivores
- Eats ONLY plants
- Ex. Cows, insects
Carnivores
Eats OTHER animals
Ex. Lions, Hawks, Snakes
Omnivores
Eats BOTH plants and animals
Ex. Humas, bears, raccoons
Primary Consumers
They are the first eaters of plants & other producers
Ex. Herbivores
Secondary Consumer
Eat mainly herbivores
Ex. Bird that eats insects
Tertiary Consumers
Eat OHTER carnivores
Ex. Eagles, shark
Decomposers
- Gets energy-rich molecules by eating or absrobing leftover or waste matter such as feces, dead bodies, body parts of other organisms
- Ex. worm, mushrooms, bacteria, insects
Detritus
Waste from plants and animals, including their dead bodies
Trophic Levels
- The feeding level through which energy & matter are transferred
- A category of living things defined by how it gains its energy.
- The first trophic level contains autotrophs (producers) and each higher levels contains heterotrophs
Food Pyramids
- An ecological hierarchy of food interactions in which the apex predator is at the top
- Each level preys on the next lower level, and the bottom level is generally green vegetation.
- Energy is transferred from one trophic level to another in the ecosystem, and some amount is lost at each trophic level.
Energy Flow In Ecosystems
- The movement of energy through living organisms, from producers to consumers
- Consumers must eat more of their prey to get more energy
1st Law of Thermodynamics
Energy CANNOT be created nor destroyed only transformed from one from to another
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
- Energy can be transformed to do work & prodcues heat.
- All energy trnafer result in waster or unusable energy that is “lost” usually in the from of heat.
Energy Transfer
Approximately 10% of the enrgy at one trophic level is transferred to another.
Food Chain
- Simple & linear transfer of energy
- Describes relationships between lower & higher trophic levels and describe the floe of energy within an ecosystem
Top Carnivore
- Final carnivore on a food chain
- They are not eaten by other animals while they are alive.
Food Web
- Everything is interconected.
- A visual representation of the interconnected feeding relationships within an ecosystem, showing which organisms eat which, and how energy flows through different trophic levels.
Pyramid of Biomass
- Biomass is the dry mass of living or once living organisms per unit area (In the whole ecosystem)
- Usually presented in the units of grams per square metre g/m^2
- Overcomes the limitations that cause an inversion of a pyramid of numbers
- In most ecosystems, there is less biomass at higher trophic levels than at lower trophic levels
- This illustrates a decrease in available energy at each successive trophic level
- It could be inverted
- In an inverted pyramid of biomass, there is less biomass at the first trophic level than at the second trophic level
Pyramid of Numbers
- How many of each organism are in the ecosystem
- Represents the relative number of organisms at each link in a food chain and at each trophic level
- In many ecosystems, organisms at higher trophic levels are fewer in number than organisms at lower trophic levels
- Illustrates a decrease in available energy at each successive trophic level.
- It could be inverted:
- A smaller number of large organisms at a lower trophic level supports a larger number of small organisms at higher trophic levels
- Due to the size of the organism =, there is more biomass at the lower trophic level than at the higher ones
Pyramid of Energy
- Transfer of energy (in J or KJ) from one trophic level to the next
- Typically showing 10%, the efficiency of this transfer can vary from 5 to 20%
- Overcomes the limitations that cause an inversion of the pyramid of biomass
- In all ecosystem, there is less energy at higher trophic levels than at lower trophic levels
- This shows a DECREASE in available energy at each successive trophic level
- Inverted Pyramid of Energy DOES NOT exist
- It is always upright, as there can NEVER be less energy in a lower trophic level than in a higher one.
Properties of Water
- Water is a universal solvent
- Water has a relatively HIGH boiling & melting point
- Water has special adhesive & cohesive properties
- Water has a HIGH heat capacity
Biomagnification
The concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of its ingesting other plants or animals in which the toxins are more widely dispersed.
Universal Solvent
- Water is very good at carrying other materials
- The structure of water allows it to dissolve a variety of substances
- Polar molecules, meaning it has a positive & negative end, which creates a weak attraction called a hydrogen bond
Adhesion
- Water molecules are ATTRACTED to OTHER substances
- Ex. Raidrops sticking to windows.
Cohesion
Water molecules are ATTRACTED to other WATER molecule.
Ex. Water drops
Weird Water Density
- Frozen water is LESS dense than liquid water
- WHY?
- When water freezes, it EXPANDS because hydrogen binds to hold the water molecules in an open crystal structure.
- When ice melts, its solid, crystalline structure begins to break down, INCREASING its density.
Heat Capacity
A measure of the amount of heat a substance can absorb or relase for a given change in temperature.
Water Stores Heat
Water has a high heat capacity which means it NEEDS a large transfer of energy for a small change in temperature.
Water Cycle (Hydrological Cycle)
The movement of water through the environment from the atmosphere to Earth and back
Evaporation
The sun’s energy heats up the water from lakes, rivers and oceans, turning it into steam (water vapour) that rises into the air
Condensation
When the water vapor goes high up where it’s colder, it turns back into tiny water droplets, forming clouds.
Precipitation
- When clouds get heavier with water, the water falls back to the ground as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Usually occurs when the temperature is just right
Collection
The water gathers in rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some of it soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater, which plants and animals can use.
Transpiration
- Plants absorb water from the soil through their roots and release it back into the atmosphere through their leaves.
- The loss of water through the stomata on the plants leaves.
Runoff
- Some of the rainwater flows over the ground into streams, rivers, and eventually back to oceans or lakes, continuing the cycle.
- Water moves along the lithosphere (Land) into the hydrosphere (Body of water).
Storage
Water is stored in various forms, including oceans (96% of Earth’s water), lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice caps, and glaciers, as well as in the atmosphere as water vapor.
Water Table
The top level of the region below the ground that is saturated with water.
Plays a big role in storing and moving water underground.
The water table helps keep water available for plants, animals, and people
Leaching
- The removal of soluble minerals by percolation.
- A process of extracting a substance from a solid material that is dissolved in a liquid.
- Process where nutirents enter the water table or the hydrosphere through run-off.
- Negatively impacts natural ecosystem.
Percolation
- The downward pull of water
- The movement of a liquid through a porous material, such as soil particles.
Carbon Cycle
The cycle of matter in which carbon atoms move from an inorganic form to an organic form and then back into an inorganic form.
Carbon Source
Something that ADDS/RELEASES carbon to the environment
Ex. Combustion (Breathing Things), Breathing (Cellular Respiration)
Carbon Sink
Something in the environment that STORES carbon
Ex. Ocean, forest, soil, wetlands
Organic Carbon
Carbon compound found in living (or recently living) organisms
Ex. Glucose, Carbs, lipids, DNA, hormones.
Storage Areas: Bodies of living things.
Inorganic Carbon
Carbon compound found in the environment in NON-LIVING things
Ex. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbonate, carbide
Storage Areas: Atmosphere (The smallest), oceans and Earth’s crust.
Oxygen Cycle
- Oxygen is important for both photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
- The movement of oxygen gas from living things into the atmosphere through photosynthesis and then back into living things through cellular respiration.
Human Impact on the Carbon Cycle:
Burning Fossil Fuels: Releases large amounts of CO₂, contributing to global warming.
Deforestation: Reduces the number of trees that absorb CO₂ through photosynthesis, increasing atmospheric carbon.
Ocean Acidification: Excess CO₂ dissolves in oceans, forming carbonic acid, which harms marine life.
Industrial Agriculture: Livestock (especially cattle) produce methane (CH₄), a powerful greenhouse gas.
Using Nitrogen
- Bacteria convert nitrogen into ammonium in a process called nitrogen fixation
- When decomposers break down organic matter (Called ammonification), it produces ammonium
- Some soil bacteria convert ammonium into nitrite and then into nitrate, which plants can use to get nitrogen
Nitrogen
PERCENTAGES:
- 78% is Nitrogen, 21% is oxygen, 1% is other gases
- Parts of proteins in an organism
- Parts of DNA in cells
- Most organisms CANNOT use the nitrogen straight from the atmosphere
Nitrogen Cycle
A cycle of matter in which nitrogen atoms move from nitrogen gas in the atmosphere, to inorganic forms in the soil, to organic forms in the living things, & then back to inorganic forms in the soil and nitrogen gas in the atmosphere
Aerobic Respiration
- Occurs in the presence of oxygen
- Nitrification is aerobic
Anaerobic Respiration
- Occurs when there is limited oxygen
- Denitrification is anaerobic
Nitrogen Fixation
- Free nitrogen (Nitrogen gas) is converted into ammonia, nitrites or nitrates
Two Methods of Nitrogen Fixation
- Bacteria can convert the free nitrogen into ammonia, and then other bacteria convert it into nitrites & nitrates.
- Plants can take up nitrate.
- Lighting can also fix nitrogen into nitrates.
- Energy from the lightning can cause nitrogen gas to react with oxygen in the air.
Nitrification
The process that converts ammonia to nitrites & then nitrate
(Ammonia –> Nitrites–> Nitrates)
Assimilation
- When plants & animals take up the nitrogen & incorporate them into their body systems
- Nitrogen absorption by plants and animals, and the nitrogen is transferred up the food chain
Ammonification
When decomposers break down dead materials of plants and animals it produces ammonium
Denitrification
- The process of converting NITRATE –> NITROGEN GAS
- Denitrifying bacteria complete the cycle by converting nitrite or nitrate back into nitrogen gas
Phosphorus
- Essential nutrients (The body CANNOT produce them, so it needs to consume them)
- Limited amounts are available in the environment
- Concentrated in living things
- Parts of the DNA & ATP
- A major part of the teeth and bones
- Different from carbon, nitrogen and sulfur because it does not cycle through the atmosphere
- Found in soil & water, and weathering, gradually release the phosphorus trapped in rocks
How do Organisms Get Phosphorus?
- Animals get phosphorus by eating plants or other animals.
- Producers get phosphorus in the form of phosphate, which is dissolved in water
Phosphorus Cycle
- The cycling of phosphorus between the biotic and abiotic parts of the environment
- Consists of a biological and geological cycle.
Short-term Phosphrus Cycle
(Biological Cycle)
Occurs within living organisms, soil, and water over days to decades.
It includes the movement of phosphorus between plants, animals, decomposers, and the soil.
Absorption by Plants – Trees, ferns, and mosses absorb phosphates (PO₄³⁻) from the soil to grow.
🔹 Consumption by Herbivores – Herbivores like Roosevelt elk and banana slugs eat plants, obtaining phosphorus for bones, teeth, and energy production (ATP).
🔹 Transfer to Carnivores – Predators like wolves and bald eagles consume herbivores, passing phosphorus up the food chain.
🔹 Decomposition – When plants and animals die, fungi, bacteria, and insects break down their bodies, returning phosphorus to the soil.
🔹 Waste Recycling – Animal feces and urine release phosphorus back into the environment.
🌲 Example: A Sitka spruce tree absorbs phosphorus from the soil. A Roosevelt elk eats its leaves and gains phosphorus. A wolf preys on the elk, transferring phosphorus into its own body. When the wolf dies, decomposers like fungi break it down, returning phosphorus to the soil.
Long-term Phosphorus Cycle
(Geological Cycle)
Occurs over a long period of time as phosphorus moves between rocks, soil and water through a slow geological process.
🪨 Rock Weathering – Phosphorus is stored in rocks for millions of years. Over time, rain, wind, and plant roots break down rocks, releasing phosphorus into the soil.
🌊 Sedimentation & Burial – Some phosphorus washes into rivers, lakes, and oceans, where it settles into sediments and becomes part of new rock formations.
⏳ Geological Uplift – Over millions of years, tectonic forces push phosphorus-rich rocks back up to the surface, restarting the cycle.
Example:
Rain erodes phosphorus-rich rocks in a temperate rainforest.
The phosphorus enters the soil, where trees and plants absorb it.
Some phosphorus washes into rivers and oceans.
Over time, it gets buried in ocean sediments, forming new rocks.
After millions of years, tectonic activity lifts the rocks back up, restarting the cycle.
Human Impacts On The Water Cycle
Deforestation: Reduces transpiration, affecting local rainfall patterns.
Urbanization: Increases runoff and reduces groundwater recharge due to impermeable surfaces (e.g., concrete).
Overuse of Freshwater: Excessive water withdrawal for agriculture, industry, and household use can deplete groundwater and rivers.
Pollution: Industrial and agricultural waste introduces contaminants into water bodies, affecting water quality.
Climate Change: Warmer temperatures increase evaporation rates and alter precipitation patterns, leading to droughts or floods.
Human Impact On The Oxygen Cycle
Deforestation: Reduces oxygen production by decreasing the number of trees available for photosynthesis.
Burning Fossil Fuels: Consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, leading to a reduced oxygen balance in the atmosphere.
Ocean Pollution: Harmful chemicals and warming waters reduce oxygen levels (hypoxia), causing dead zones where marine life cannot survive.
Human Impact On The Phosphorus Cycle
Excessive Fertilizer Use: Leads to phosphorus runoff, which, like nitrogen, causes eutrophication in lakes and oceans.
Mining for Phosphate Rocks: Disrupts ecosystems and reduces natural phosphorus availability.
Deforestation: Reduces phosphorus retention in soils, leading to soil erosion and nutrient loss.
Wastewater and Detergents: Contain phosphorus, which can contribute to water pollution and harmful algal blooms.
Human Impact On The Nitrogen Cycle
Excess Fertilizer Use: Increases nitrogen runoff into water bodies, causing eutrophication (algal blooms that deplete oxygen).
Burning Fossil Fuels: Releases nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), which contribute to acid rain and air pollution.
Livestock Waste: Releases ammonia (NH₃) into the environment, which can lead to soil and water contamination.
Habitat
A place or type of environemnt with conditionssuitable for the survival of an organism or population of organism
Biodiversity
The number of species in an ecosytem.
The rduction in biodiversity is caused by extinction of a single species can cause a domino effect as every organism in an ecosystem is connected to all other organism.
Abundance
How many individuals.
Polar Molecule
A molecule that has a positive and negative end
Hydrogen Bond
The type of bond that is formed between the positive end of one water molecule & the negative end of another water molecule
Acid Deposition
Ay form of precipitation with acidic parts that fall to the ground from the atmosphere in wet/dry forms.
Acid Rain
- When acid enters the atmosphere & combine with water droplets to form acids that return to the surface as rain, snow, sleet.
- Oil refineries, bruning of fossil fuels, metal smelters are some of the causes.
- Some of the cycles are the water cycles and the sulfur cyce
Algae Bloom
- Rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquuatic ecosystm.
- CAUSES: Excess nutrients (Nitrogen & Phosphorus), Warm temperature, sunlight
- IMPACTS: Depletes oxygen killing of other aquatic species..
