Chapter 2

Question 1

What is ecology?

Answer 1

Study of relationship between environment and organism and more specifically balance between their relationship

Question 2

What is a population?

Answer 2

Consists of all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time

Question 3

What is a community?

Answer 3

All of the populations of organisms living and interacting in a particular area

Question 4

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 4

Composed of a biological community and its physical environment

Question 5

What is a system?

Answer 5

A network of interdependent components and process with materials and energy flowing from one component of the system to another

Question 6

Why is the idea of systems useful?

Answer 6

Because it helps us organize our thoughts about the inconceivable complex phenomena around us

Question 7

In what three distinct state does the matter exist?

Answer 7

Solid
Liquid
Gas

Question 8

What is matter?

Answer 8

Anything that takes up space and has mass

Question 9

The principle of conservation of mater states what?

Answer 9

Under ordinary circumstances, matter is neither created nor destroyed but rather is recycled

Question 10

Can matter be transformed or recombined?

Answer 10

Yes

Question 11

What is carbon?

Answer 11

A special element because chains and rings of carbon atoms form skeletons of organic compounds

Question 12

What are the four major categories of organic compounds in living things?

Answer 12

Lipids
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Nucleic acids

Question 13

What are lipids?

Answer 13

Store energy for cells and provide the core of cell membranes and other structures

Question 14

What are carbohydrates?

Answer 14

Store energy and provide structure to cells
They usually consist of of a long chains of simple sugars like glucose

Question 15

What are proteins?

Answer 15

Composed of chains of amino acids folded into complex 3-d shapes
Proteins provide structure to cells and are used for countless cell functions

Question 16

What are nucleotides?

Answer 16

Complex molecules made of 5-carbon sugar, one or more phosphate groups and a nitrogen-containing base

Question 17

Who are the primary producers?

Answer 17

Plants

Question 18

What is chemosynthesis?

Answer 18

A process which allows to extract energy from inorganic chemical compounds such as hydrogen sulfide

Question 19

How is a food web formed?

Answer 19

When individual food chains become interconnected

Question 20

What is a trophic level?

Answer 20

An organisms feeding status in an ecosystem

Question 21

Han do primary producers or autotrophs feed themselves?

Answer 21

Using only sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and minerals

Question 22

What do consumers or heterotrophs feed on?

Answer 22

Chemical energy harnessed by the primary producers

Question 23

Who are herbivores?

Answer 23

Consumer who are plant eaters

Question 24

Who are carnivores?

Answer 24

Flesh eaters

Question 25

Who are omnivores?

Answer 25

Can eat both plant and animal matter

Question 26

Who are scavengers?

Answer 26

Such as jackals and vultures, clean up dead carcasses of larger animals

Question 27

Who are Detritivores ?

Answer 27

Such as ants and beetles, consume litter, debris, and dung

Question 28

Who are decomposers ?

Answer 28

Such as fungi and bacteria, complete the final break down and recycling of organic materials

Question 29

What is biogeochemical cycling?

Answer 29

The elements and compounds that sustain us are cycled endlessly through living things and through environment