C4.2 Flashcards
Define ecosystem.
Compare open and closed systems.
State the ecosystems are open systems.
State that sunlight is the primary energy source for most ecosystems.
Outline an example of an exception of sunlight as the principal energy source in most ecosystems.
Define food chain.
Identify producers and consumers in a food chain.
Identify the apex predator in a food chain.
State what is indicated by the arrow in a food chain.
Draw a food chain, labeling the producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer and tertiary consumer.
State the reason why food webs are better representations of trophic relationships in an ecological community than a food chain.
Outline the role of decomposers in a food web.
List examples of decomposers, including both detritivores and saprotrophs.
Define autotroph.
Define carbon fixation.
State the reason why autotrophs must “fix” carbon.
List the two primary uses of energy in autotrophs.
Compare the energy sources used by photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs.
List examples of photoautotrophs.
List examples of chemoautotrophs.
Outline how oxidation reactions serve as a source of energy in iron-oxidizing bacteria.
Define heterotroph.
Outline the functions of digestion, assimilation and synthesis of carbon compounds in heterotrophs.
State that both autotrophs and heterotrophs perform cellular respiration to produce ATP.
Describe cellular respiration as an oxidation reaction.
Define trophic level.
Identify the trophic level of an organism in a food chain.
State that many organisms have a varied diet and occupy different trophic levels in different food chains.
State the unit used for communicating the energy in each trophic level of a food chain.
Describe the shape of a pyramid of energy.
Draw a pyramid of energy given data for an ecosystem.
Outline three reasons why the amount of energy decreases at higher trophic levels.
State the average amount of energy passed through each trophic level in a food chain.
Describe the reasons why heat created by living organisms is eventually lost from the ecosystem.
State that at each successive trophic level there are few organisms and less biomass.
Explain why there is a limited number of trophic levels in an ecosystem.
Define biomass.
Define gross and net primary production.
State the unit of primary production.
Outline why different biomes will vary in their capacity to accumulate biomass.
Define secondary production.
Explain why secondary production is lower than primary production in an ecosystem.
Define sink, pool and flux as related to the carbon cycle.
Draw a diagram of the carbon cycle through a terrestrial ecosystem; include processes of diffusion, photosynthesis, feeding and respiration.
State the conditions under which an ecosystem is a carbon sink.
State the conditions under which an ecosystem is a carbon source.
Define sequestration in relation to a carbon sink.
Define combustion.
State the reactants and products of a combustion reaction.
State sources of fuel for a combustion reaction.
Outline formation of peat, coal, oil, natural gas and biomass.
Sketch a graph of the annual fluctuation in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.
Explain the annual fluctuation in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration in terms of photosynthesis and respiration.
State the long-term trend depicted in the Keeling curve.
Explain the reason for the long term trend depicted in the Keeling curve.
State the source of atmospheric oxygen.
Explain the interdependence of aerobic respiration and photosynthesis.
Outline how the annual flux of CO2 is estimated, including the unit.
State that chemical elements can be recycled but energy can not.
List elements required by living organisms that must be cycled through ecosystems.
Outline the generalized flow of nutrients between the abiotic, autotrophic and heterotrophic components of an ecosystem.
State the role of decomposers in nutrient cycles.
