Chapter 3: Functioning ecosystems

Question 1

What provides the Earth with the most energy?

Answer 1

Sun

Question 2

What does the heating of the atmosphere cause?

Answer 2

Geochemical processes, tides, weather and ocean currents

Question 3

What radiation does the sun emit?

Answer 3

Visible, infrared and ultraviolet radiation

Question 4

How is the sun light converted to chemical energy?

Answer 4

Photosynthesis

Question 5

What is the process of photosynthesis?

Answer 5

Binds molecules of water and carbon dioxide

Question 6

How is energy made available?

Answer 6

Metabolism

Question 7

How is glucose released?

Answer 7

Cellular respiration

Question 8

What is an autotroph?

Answer 8

An organism which produces its own organic matter from sunlight

Question 9

What is a trophic level?

Answer 9

A level in the food chain of an ecosystem based on feeding relationships

Question 10

What is biomass?

Answer 10

The total mass of living matter in an ecosystem

Question 11

What is photosynthetic efficiency?

Answer 11

How well a producer converts light energy into chemical energy

Question 12

What does photosynthetic efficiency refer to within biomass?

Answer 12

Not all producers make the same amount of biomass, their ability to produce is referred to as photosynthetic efficiency

Question 13

What is the difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity?

Answer 13

Gross is the amount of organic matter produced and net is the amount available to consumers through trophic levels.

Question 14

What is heterotroph?

Answer 14

An organism that consumes other organisms for food

Question 15

What is a biomass pyramid?

Answer 15

A diagram which shows the relative proportions of each trophic level

Question 16

What is the general energy loss rule?

Answer 16

10%

Question 17

What does energy convert to and lost?

Answer 17

Metabolism into heat energy and is lost into the surrounding environment

Question 18

What does endothermic mean?

Answer 18

Internal body temperature is higher the surrounding temp

Question 19

What does ectothermic mean?

Answer 19

Internal body temperature reflects and fluctuates with its surroundings

Question 20

What is the percentage efficiency equation?

Answer 20

=(Net productivity of the organism )/(Net productivity of previous trophic level) × 100

Question 21

What is a detritivore?

Answer 21

Worms which consume dead tissue

Question 22

What is a decomposer?

Answer 22

An organism which absorbs nutrients from dead tissue

Question 23

What is an ecological niche?

Answer 23

The role an organism plays in an ecosystem and its interactions

Question 24

What happens if two organisms display the same ecological niche?

Answer 24

One will out-compete the other

Question 25

What is the fundamental niche?

Answer 25

The widest potential niche a species could occupy without predators

Question 26

What is realised niche?

Answer 26

The actual niche a species occupies with the influence of predators.

Question 27

What is resource partitioning?

Answer 27

The use of space allows species to occupy the same niche without out-competing one another. E.g. Using trees, one dwells in the canopy, secondary layer etc.

Question 28

What is the competitive exclusion principle?

Answer 28

An ecological principle that states no two species can occupy exactly the same niche

Question 29

What is carrying capacity?

Answer 29

The greatest population the resources of an area will allow the species

Question 30

What are keystone species?

Answer 30

A plant or species which plays a virtual role in the survival of the ecosystem

Question 31

What happens if a keystone species is removed?

Answer 31

The ecosystem will fail