Chapter 3: Basic Living Needs of Living Things Flashcards
Ecology is the study of all processes influencing:
- the distribution and abundance of organisms
- interactions between living things and the environment
Species
A group of individuals capable of breeding and having fertile offspring
How are species grouped?
- Species
- Genera
- Families
- Orders
- Classes
- Phyla
- Kingdoms
- Domains
How do you write a species name?
- Latin with two parts
2. Genus is capitalized, species is not
Population
Individuals that make up an interbreeding, reproducing group
What does population refer too?
Species in a specific area
Ecosystem
Interactive communities and abiotic factors affecting them
Ecotone
Transitional area between two ecosystems
Landscape
Cluster of interacting ecosystems
Biome
Large area with the same climate and vegetation
Two determining factors of a biome
- rainfall
* temperature
Biosphere
Huge system formed by all living things
Condition
A factor that varies in space and time but isn’t used up
Examples of conditions
Temperature, wind, pH, salinity
Resource
Any factor consumed by organisms
Optimum range
A certain level where organisms grow or survive best
For every factor there is an _________________.
Optimum range
Range of tolerance
The entire range allowing growth
Limits of tolerance
High and low ends of the range of tolerance
Zones of stress
Are between the optimal range and the high or low range of tolerance
Limiting factor
Any factor that limits growth
Law of limiting factors
Any factor outside of the optimal range that will cause stress and limit growth, reproduction, and survival of a population
Synergistic effects/synergisms)
Factors that interact to cause a greater effect that expected
Microhabitat
Puddles, rocks, holes in tree trunks
Habitat
The place where a species is adapted live
Niche
The sum of all conditions and resources under which a species can live
Matter
Anything that occupies space and has mass
Atoms
The building blocks of all matter
Atoms are the smallest components of _________ that have that _____________ properties
Elements;element
Element
94 naturally occurring kinds of atoms
Law of Conservation of matter states free things
- Atoms don’t change
- Not created or destroyed
- Only rearranged
Molecule
Two or more atoms of the same or different kinds that are bonded in a new specific way
Compound
Two or more different kinds of atoms/elements
Atmosphere
The thin layer of gasses separating Earth from outer spaces
Hydrosphere
- all water in oceans, rivers, ice, groundwater
- source of hydrogen
Sublimation
Water goes from solid directly into the air
Lithosphere
All elements required by organisms are in minerals
How do the spheres interact with each other
Minerals in the 3 spheres interact with the biosphere as living organisms use materials from the other three spheres to build molecules
Six key elements
- Carbon (C)
- Hydrogen (H)
- Oxygen (O)
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Sulfur
Organic compounds
Chemical compounds making up tissue of living organisms
- mainly carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
Inorganic compounds
Molecules or compounds with neither carbon-carbon nor carbon-hydrogen bonds
Energy
The ability to move matter
Energy changes…
Position or state of matter
Common forms of energy
Light, heat, movement, electricity
Kinetic energy
Energy in action or motion
Potential energy
Energy stored
Chemical energy
Potential energy contained in chemicals and fuels
First Law of Thermodynamics (Law of Conservation of Energy)
Energy is neither created nor destroyed
Second Law of Thermodynamics
Some usable energy is lost (converted to heat energy) in an energy conversion
Entropy
Measures the degree of disorder in a system
Producers
Convert low-potential-energy raw materials
Photosynthesis
6 CO2 + 6 H2O ——> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
Consumers
Live on the production of others
Enzymes
Proteins that promote the synthesis or breaking of chemical bonds
Cell respiration
Organic molecules are broken down inside each cell (release potential energy)
Respiration formula
C6H12O6 + 6 OH2 —–> 6 Co2 + 6 H2O + energy
Biogeochemical cycle (nutrient cycle)
Nutrients are recycled and continually reused
Carbon cycle
Carbon dioxide in the air become organic molecules in organisms then respired into the air
Ways we increase CO2
- Burning fossil fuels has increased CO2 by 35%
2. Deforestation and soil degradation
The Biogeochemical cycle is the repeated pathway of…
Nutrients or elements from the environment, through living organisms, and back again
Phosphorous cycle
Mineral elements originate in rock and soil minerals
A shortage of phosphorus is a…
Limiting factor
Why is phosphorus an essential nutrient?
- It’s part of every DNA and RNA molecule
- It’s part of the molecules stored in energy, ADP, and ATP
- It’s part of fats making up cell membranes
- It’s a building block in bones and teeth
- Important to plan health and root development, growth, sugar, and starch
What is the most serious intrusion to the phosphorus cycle and why?
Fertilizers. They can stimulate production
