Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

ENV120 > Chapter 2 > Flashcards

Chapter 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What is life?

A

life. ..
- uses energy
- increases in size and complexity
- reproduces
- reacts to environment
- regulates and maintains internal environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

biotic

A

living

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

abiotic

A

non-living

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

matter

A

anything that has mass and takes up space

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

elements

A

simplest building blocks of matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

compounds

A

two or more different elements held tightly together by chemical bonds between their atoms
-important because they can mix with human compounds that bond with the naturally occurring elements/compounds and disrupt the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Quality of Matter

A

measure of potential for use, concentration, organization

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Energy

A

ability to cause change
ability to do work (movement, growth, reproduction, tissue replacement
-measure in calories
-has no mass and takes up no space

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

calories

A

amount of heat necessary to raise one gram or mililitre of water one degree C starting at 15 degrees C

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Radiant Energy

A

from the sun

-used for photosynthesis, warming

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Chemical Energy

A

stored in chemical bonds of molecules

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Thermal Energy

A

motion of particles in matter. Feel the energy of particles in matter as heat. Add thermal energy, particles move faster.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Mechanical Energy

A

energy possessed by an object due to its motion of position

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Electrical Energy

A

primary source of energy consumption in any modern household

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Kinetic Energy

A

derived from an object’s motion and mass (energy of motion)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Potential Energy

A

stored energy available for later

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Energy Quality

A

measure of ability to perform useful work

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Low Quality energy

A

diffuse, disperses at low temperatures, difficult to gather

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

High quality energy

A

easy to use, but energy disperses quickly

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Inefficient Energy use

A

Humans use high quality energy for tasks in which low quality energy could be used

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Economy and technology is…

A

built around transformation of low-quality energy into high-quality energy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Largest source of Energy

A 
the SUN
42%=heating of atmosphere and earth's crust
34%= reflected back 
23%= evaporation
1%=wind/waves
0.023%= photosynthesis
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Energy Flow in systems

A

everything is connected
see diagram in Lecture 5
nitrogen is the most abundant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

1st Law of Thermodynamics

A

energy cannot be created nor destroyed

organisms do not create energy they obtain it from the surrounding environments

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
2nd Law of Thermodynamics
when energy is transformed from one from to another there is always a decrease in useable energy (dispersed energy often lost as heat at low temperatures)
26
Entropy
measure of disorder or randomness of a system (higher entropy=increase loss)
27
Which law is most important for organisms?
2nd law- must continually expend energy to maintain themselves
28
What do many ecological problems result from?
transformation of society from a renewable to non-renewable
29
Photosynthesis
CO2+ water+ sunlight--> O2+ CHO +water
30
Autotroph
organisms that can capture energy to manufacture matter (aka producer/primary producer) create their own food
31
Types of Autotrophs
Phototrophs- obtain energy from light | Chemoautotrophs- gain energy from chemicals available in the environment
32
Heterotroph/Consumer
eat other organisms for energy supply
33
Types of Heterotrophs
Herbivore- eat producers, source of energy for other heterotrophs Carnivore- eat Primary and Secondary consumers Decomposers- eat dead organisms/take nutrients and put it back into the earth
34
Omnivore
Have broad diets
35
Detrivore
earthworm, helps start the process
36
@ Trophic Levels
1) Producers 2) Primary consumers (herbivores) 3) Secondary consumers (carnivores) 4) Tertiary Consumers (top carnivores)
37
Food Web
numerous alternative route for energy flow through ecosystem
38
Food Chain
implies organization | small food chains have less resistance to change
39
Resilience
ability of an ecosystem to recover from change
40
Mid-latitude web vs. Arctic web
Arctic web does not have many species therefore if you take something out there will be drastic change whereas in the mid-latitude web each organism is linked to many different things so it is more resilient to change
41
Arctic Food Webs
- very short = very efficient | - less entropy (less dispersion)
42
Biotic pyramids
- lose energy at each trophic level (10%) - loss of biomass at each level - 2nd law of thermodynamics applies - anthropomorphic due to hierarchy
43
How are these Laws relevant to Humans?
- can't get something for nothing - everything has to go somewhere (waste) - recycling (energy vs. matter) takes energy to recycle - efficient choices of energy (eat lower on food chain)
44
Vegetarianism- Pros
- 8-16kg of grain = 1kg of beef - less energy needed to feed people - heath and nutrition (fats-cancer&heart disease) - animal welfare - enviro impact of meat production - coast- purchase, storage, cleaning
45
Vegetarianism Cons
- not all environmental impacts from agriculture are due to meat - meat production can be ethical - plant production also generates impacts - natural to eat animals - can be unhealthy - meat and plant production can be compatible - genetically modified foods
46
Gross Primary Productivity
rate at which energy is transformed into biomass
47
biomass
the sum of all living material or a species in an environment
48
Net primary productivity
NPP=GPP-R(cellular respiration from autotrophs) | - amounts of energy available to heterotrophs
49
Most productive areas in ecosystems per unit
estuaries tropical rain forests (lots of biomass) marshes and swamps (lots of critters)
50
estuaries
rivers meet oceans
51
ecotones
two habitat/ecozones coming together
52
Net Community Productivity
Subtracts respiration from heterotrophs Increases as community matures to a maximization of NCP HUmans look to maximize NPP Problem- want to take it when it has most amount of potential gain
53
Ecosystem Structure
1. Individual Organism 2. Population 3. Community 4. Ecosystem 5. Biome
54
Population
group of individuals of a species
55
Community
population of several species
56
Ecosystem
collection of communities interacting in the environment
57
Biome
many ecosystems together | classified by dominant vegetation and animal communities (climate)
58
Ecosystem components
Biotic- living | Abiotic- non living- but critical to the system
59
Soils
come from parent material
60
parent material
- remains of bedrock or where sediments deposited by water, ice, landslides, wind
61
Inorganic Elements in Soils
Ca (Calcium) Fe (Iron) Mn (Manganese) P (Phosphorus)
62
Soil horizons
``` layers forming in the soil organic matter Dark- rich in humus light coloured Varied ```
63
Soil profile
View across these horizons
64
Fossorial species
live underground, change in soil can change an entire ecosystem
65
Limiting Factors (abiotic)
``` Temperature (increase cause change) Water Availability (dominant limiting factor) Nutrient Availability (phosphorous in a water body) ```
66
Law of Tolerance
species' existence (presence, number, and distribution) is determined by level of factors in a tolerable range (BELL CURVE) zone of intolerance, zone of physiological stress, optimum range
67
Niche
combination of physical, chemical, and biological conditions for a species growth (soils, minerals)
68
Habitat
where a species lives
69
Specialist Species
narrow niche, end up in trouble
70
Generalist species
very broad niche, many potential food items
71
Biodiversity types
1) Genetic diversity- enough genetic resilience to bounce back 2) Species Diversity- species richness (count how many species are in an area)
72
Competitive Exclusion Principle
No two species can occupy the same niche in the same area
73
Fundamental Nice
potential
74
REalized niche
reality
75
Interspecific interactions
between different species - competition where niche are similar - resource partitioning (divide resources so you don't compete against each other)
76
Predation
death (owl eats mouse)
77
Parasitism
type of predation involving parasites (may be slow process, not always death) parasites are smaller than the prey
78
Mutualism
both species benefit
79
Commensalism
one plant that grows on another | -One benefits the other no effect
80
Extinction
no individuals of a species exist on Earth
81
Extirpation
no individuals of a species left in a certain area
82
exotic
brought into ecosystem on purpose or by accident
83
endemic
normally thrives in a specific ecosystem
84
indicator
used to watch the environment
85
Keystone species
have disproportionately large effect on enviro relative to its own needs
86
Impacts of global climate change
- numbers and distribution of species - functioning of ecosystems (energy and matter flows) - productivity - food webs
87
Implications of climate change
species with largest range of tolerance will increase | -see changes in species ranges, abundance and number

ENV120 (15 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions