Chapter 1

Question 1

What is ecology?

Answer 1

Science that means “study of the household”. Is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment
(interactions between abiotic and biotic factors)

Question 2

List physical/chemical conditions (abiotic factors)

Answer 2

Temperature
Moisture
Gas concentration
Light Intensity

Question 3

List biotic factors

Answer 3

Mating
Predator/Prey Interactions
Competition

Question 4

List hierarchy of organization from smallest to largest

Answer 4

Individual -> population -> communiy -> ecosystem -> landscape -> biome -> biosphere

Question 5

Describe the individual level of organization

Answer 5

Looks at an individual organism and how certain things affect this organism

Question 6

Describe the population level of organization

Answer 6

How something affects all individuals of the same species

Question 7

Describe the community level of organization

Answer 7

How something affects multiple species
(predator/prey, mutualism, etc.)

Question 8

Describe the ecosystem level of organization

Answer 8

How something affects abiotic and biotic factors within an area
(nutrient uptake, phosphorus cycle, etc.)

Question 9

Describe the landscape level of organization

Answer 9

Looks at how variations of topography and soils influence species and diversity

Question 10

Describe the biome level of organization

Answer 10

Looks at how features of geology and regional climates determine where populations can live

Question 11

Describe the biosphere level of organization

Answer 11

Looks at global effects. How one biome can influence another.
(like how a biome with an active volcano can affect a biome across the world)

Question 12

All populations of different species living and interacting within an ecosystem are referred to collectively as a(n):

Answer 12

community

Question 13

____ is activism with a stated aim of protecting the natural environment, particularly from the negative impacts of human activities

Answer 13

Environmentalism

Question 14

An ecologist conducts a greenhouse experiment to study the effect of nitrogen concentration on the productivity of sunflower seedlings. What is the independent variable in this experiment?

Answer 14

Concentration of nitrogen

Question 15

If x and y have a negative relationship as show by a scatter plot, then the value of y will ___ as the value of x ____

Answer 15

y will decrease as the value of x increases

Question 16

Moisture and concentration of oxygen make up part of….

Answer 16

an organisms environment.

Question 17

The basic unit in ecology is the

Answer 17

Individual

Question 18

The term “ecology” is defined as the study of the

Answer 18

relationships between organisms and their environment

Question 19

What best represents the flow of the scientific method?

Answer 19

Observation
Question
Hypothesis
Prediction
Hypothesis Testing (collecting data)

Question 20

What is one of the cornerstones of ecology?

Answer 20

Darwin’s theory of natural selection

Question 21

Why is ecology considered an interdisciplinary science?

Answer 21

It involves and draws from various fields of science such as geology, hydrology, and meteorology.