C4.2

Question 1

Define ecosystem.

Question 2

Compare open and closed systems.

Question 3

State the ecosystems are open systems. ​

Question 4

State that sunlight is the primary energy source for most ecosystems.

Question 5

Outline an example of an exception of sunlight as the principal energy source in most ecosystems.

Question 6

Define food chain.

Question 7

Identify producers and consumers in a food chain.

Question 8

Identify the apex predator in a food chain.

Question 9

State what is indicated by the arrow in a food chain.

Question 10

Draw a food chain, labeling the producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer and tertiary consumer.

Question 11

State the reason why food webs are better representations of trophic relationships in an ecological community than a food chain.​

Question 12

Outline the role of decomposers in a food web.

Question 13

List examples of decomposers, including both detritivores and saprotrophs. ​​

Question 14

Define autotroph.

Question 15

Define carbon fixation.

Question 16

State the reason why autotrophs must “fix” carbon.

Question 17

List the two primary uses of energy in autotrophs.

Question 18

​Compare the energy sources used by photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs.

Question 19

List examples of photoautotrophs.

Question 20

List examples of chemoautotrophs.

Question 21

Outline how oxidation reactions serve as a source of energy in iron-oxidizing bacteria.

Question 22

Define heterotroph.

Question 23

Outline the functions of digestion, assimilation and synthesis of carbon compounds in heterotrophs.

Question 24

State that both autotrophs and heterotrophs perform cellular respiration to produce ATP.

Question 25

Describe cellular respiration as an oxidation reaction.

Question 26

Define trophic level.

Question 27

Identify the trophic level of an organism in a food chain.

Question 28

State that many organisms have a varied diet and occupy different trophic levels in different food chains.

Question 29

State the unit used for communicating the energy in each trophic level of a food chain.

Question 30

Describe the shape of a pyramid of energy.

Question 31

Draw a pyramid of energy given data for an ecosystem.

Question 32

Outline three reasons why the amount of energy decreases at higher trophic levels.

Question 33

State the average amount of energy passed through each trophic level in a food chain.

Question 34

Describe the reasons why heat created by living organisms is eventually lost from the ecosystem.

Question 35

State that at each successive trophic level there are few organisms and less biomass.

Question 36

Explain why there is a limited number of trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Question 37

Define biomass.

Question 38

Define gross and net primary production.

Question 39

State the unit of primary production.

Question 40

Outline why different biomes will vary in their capacity to accumulate biomass. ​

Question 41

Define secondary production.

Question 42

Explain why secondary production is lower than primary production in an ecosystem. ​

Question 43

Define sink, pool and flux as related to the carbon cycle.

Question 44

Draw a diagram of the carbon cycle through a terrestrial ecosystem; include processes of diffusion, photosynthesis, feeding and respiration.​

Question 45

State the conditions under which an ecosystem is a carbon sink.

Question 46

State the conditions under which an ecosystem is a carbon source.

Question 47

Define sequestration in relation to a carbon sink.​

Question 48

Define combustion.

Question 49

State the reactants and products of a combustion reaction.

Question 50

State sources of fuel for a combustion reaction.

Question 51

Outline formation of peat, coal, oil, natural gas and biomass.​

Question 52

Sketch a graph of the annual fluctuation in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.

Question 53

Explain the annual fluctuation in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in terms of photosynthesis and respiration.

Question 54

State the long-term trend depicted in the Keeling curve.

Question 55

Explain the reason for the long term trend depicted in the Keeling curve.

Question 56

State the source of atmospheric oxygen.

Question 57

Explain the interdependence of aerobic respiration and photosynthesis.

Question 58

Outline how the annual flux of CO2 is estimated, including the unit.​

Question 59

State that chemical elements can be recycled but energy can not.

Question 60

List elements required by living organisms that must be cycled through ecosystems.

Question 61

Outline the generalized flow of nutrients between the abiotic, autotrophic and heterotrophic components of an ecosystem.

Question 62

State the role of decomposers in nutrient cycles. ​