Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is the equation for photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + Sunlight -> 6O2 + C6H12O6
What is the equation for Cellular respiration
C6h12o6 + 6H2O -> 6CO2 + 6H2O + ATP
What is the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration
The products they produce are required by the other
What is the equation for chemosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O + 3h2s -> c6h12o6 + 3h2so4
Where does chemosynthesis occur
Deep sea vents or can occur in the absence of o2
Define autotroph
Organisms that capture free energy from their environment and make it into food
These are the producers in the ecosystem and they use processes such as photosynthesis and chemosynthesis
Define heterotroph
Organisms that need to consume their energy
Define carnivore
Organisms that eat animals
Define herbivore
Organisms that eat plants
Define omnivore
Organisms that eat both plants and animals
Define decomposer
Organisms that return nutrients from dead organisms to the soil
Define biosphere
The layers in which organisms can live on earth
What are the parts of the biosphere and what part of earth do they affect
Lithosphere - earth
Hydrosphere - water
Atmosphere - air
Define open and closed systems
Open - can freely move from earth to space and vice versa
Closed - Nothing is able to enter or leave earth
Is matter a closed or open system
Closed
Is energy an open or closed system
Open
Define Albedo
The ability of a surface to reflect energy
Define radiant energy
Energy transfer in which atoms/molecules emit electromagnetic waves
Ex. Heat, Light
What % of energy is absorbed by the earths surface
51%
What % of the earths energy is absorbed by atmosphere and clouds
19%
What % of energy is reflected by clouds, dust, water, and land
30%
What % of energy is absorbed by producers
1-2%
Explain the transfer of matter
Producers to consumers to decomposers to inorganic molecules back to producers
Explain the transfer of heat
Sun to producers to consumers to decomposers
(Heat energy is also lost between each step of this cycle)
What is the first law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another
What is the second law of thermodynamics
The entropy (disorder) of a system will increase over time
What is a food chain
A food chain shows the path of energy from one living thing to another
What is necessary for all food chains but isn’t usually listed on them
Decomposers such as bacteria
What is the start of all food chains
The sun
What is the rule of 10
Only 10% of energy is passed from one step of the food chain to the next
90% is used for life processes such as growth, repair, reproduction, heat (waste), etc…
What is a tropic level
The position an organism has in a food chain
What is biomagnification
The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxic chemical, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain
What’s a pyramid of numbers
The relative number of organisms at each tropic level
As you move up in tropic levels what happens with the # of organisms and the available energy
Both decrease as you move up
What is an inverted pyramid of numbers
It is where organisms at lower tropic levels are fewer in number than organisms at higher tropic levels
What is a pyramid of biomass
The relative dry mass of living or once living organisms in an ecosystem
(Scientists don’t agree on whether or not dead organisms should be included)
What is a pyramid of biomass measured in
Grams per square meter
What limitation that occurs in a pyramid of numbers is overcomed by a pyramid of biomass
The limitation that causes an inversion in a pyramid of numbers
Does a pyramid of biomass include one or more organisms at each tropic level
More than one
What is an inverted pyramid of biomass
It is where there is less biomass at lower tropic levels than higher ones
Give an example of where an inverted pyramid of biomass could occur
In some aquatic ecosystems phytoplankton can have a lower biomass than zooplankton because phytoplankton is eaten as quickly as it is able to reproduce
What is a pyramid of energy
It shows the amount of energy held by the organisms at each tropic level
Can there be an inverted pyramid of energy
No because there can never be less energy in a lower tropic level than a higher one
