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Biology > Chapter 3 - The Biosphere > Flashcards

Chapter 3 - The Biosphere Flashcards

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1
Q

What does the biosphere consist of?

A

All life on earth and all parts of the earth in which life exists including land, water, and the atmosphere.

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2
Q

What is a species?

A

A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce offspring.

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3
Q

What is a population?

A

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area.

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4
Q

What is a community?

A

An assemblage of different populations that live together.

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5
Q

From where to where does the biosphere extend?

A

From 8km above the Earth’s surface to 11km below the ocean.

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6
Q

What is ecology?

A

The study of organisms and how they interact with each other and their environment.

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7
Q

What do organisms respond to?

A

Their environment.

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8
Q

What do interactions within the biosphere produce?

A

A web of interdependence between organisms and their environment.

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9
Q

What do humans depend on?

A

Ecological processes that produce food and water.

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10
Q

What are biotic factors?

A

Biological influences on organisms and any living part of the environment with which an organisms interacts.

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11
Q

What are the physical components of an ecosystem called?

A

Abiotic factors.

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12
Q

What are abiotic factors?

A

Any non living part of the environment.

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13
Q

What 3 methods do modern ecologists use?

A

Observation, experimentation, and modeling.

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14
Q

What are autotrophs?

A

Organisms that are able to capture energy from sunlight and produce their own food.

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15
Q

What are primary producers?

A

Producers of energy-rich compounds that are later used by other organisms.

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16
Q

What is photosynthesis?

A

Process used by plants and other autotrophs to capture light energy and use it to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and energy-rich carbohydrates such as sugars and starches.

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17
Q

What is chemosynthesis?

A

Process in which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates.

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18
Q

What are heterotrophs?

A

Organisms that obtain food by consuming other living things; also called a consumers.

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19
Q

What are consumers?

A

Organism that rely on other organisms for their energy and food supply.

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20
Q

What are carnivores?

A

Animals that eat other animals.

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21
Q

What are some examples of carnivores?

A

Snakes, dogs, cats, river otters, etc.

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22
Q

What are scavengers?

A

Animals that consume the carcasses of other animals.

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23
Q

What is an example of a scavenger?

A

A king vulture.

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24
Q

What are decomposers?

A

Bacteria and fungi that feed by chemically breaking down organic matter.

25
Q

What is detritus?

A

Small pieces of dead and decaying plants on animal remains.

26
Q

What are herbivores?

A

Organisms that obtain energy by eating only plants.

27
Q

What are some examples of herbivores?

A

Cows, caterpillars, deers, etc.

28
Q

What are omnivores?

A

Organisms that obtain energy by eating both plants and animals.

29
Q

What are some examples of omnivores?

A

Humans, bears, pigs, etc.

30
Q

What are detrivores?

A

Organisms that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter.

31
Q

What are some examples of detrivores?

A

Snails, mites, shrimp, earthworms, etc.

32
Q

Who are the main photosynthetic producers on land?

A

Plants.

33
Q

What is photosynthetic bacteria called?

A

Cyanobacteria.

34
Q

What are the primary sources of energy that power living systems?

A

Sunlight and inorganic chemical compounds.

35
Q

How does energy flow through ecosystems?

A

In a one way stream, from primary producers to various consumers.

36
Q

What is a food chain?

A

A series of steps in an ecosystem in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten.

37
Q

What is phytoplankton?

A

Photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean.

38
Q

What is a food web?

A

A network of interactions formed by feeding relationships among the organisms in an ecosystem.

39
Q

What is an example of a food chain? (Example in the book.)

A

Algae (primary producer) -> Flagfish (herbivore) -> Largemouth Bass (carnivore) -> Anhinga (carnivore) -> Alligator (carnivore)

40
Q

What is zooplankton?

A

Small free-floating animals that form part of plankton.

41
Q

What is the trophic level?

A

Each step in a food chain or food web.

42
Q

What is an ecological pyramid?

A

An illustration of the relative amounts of energy or matter that each trophic level in a food chain or food web has.

43
Q

What do pyramids of energy show?

A

The relative amount of energy at each trophic level of a food chain or web.

44
Q

What is biomass?

A

The total amount of living tissue within a trophic level.

45
Q

What does a pyramid of biomass show?

A

The relative amount of living organism matter in a trophic level.

46
Q

What does a pyramid of numbers show?

A

The number of individual organisms in a trophic level.

47
Q

Who always makes up the trophic level?

A

Primary producers.

48
Q

What are biogeochemical cycles?

A

Processes in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another.

49
Q

List the 4 biogeochemical processes.

A

Biological processes, geological processes, chemical and physical processes, human activity.

50
Q

What do biological processes consist of?

A

All activities formed by living organisms like eating or breathing.

51
Q

What do geological processes include?

A

Volcanic eruptions, formation and breakdown of rock, major movements in the earth.

52
Q

What do chemical and physical processes include?

A

Formation of precipitation and clouds,flow of running water, and lightning.

53
Q

What do human activities consist of?

A

Burning of fossil fuels, clearing of land, manufacture of fertilizers, and burning of forests.

54
Q

How does the chemical/physical part of the water cycle work?

A

Water falls from the sky as precipitation, then it evaporates and forms clouds, then it falls again as precipitation.

55
Q

How does the biological part of the water cycle work?

A

Water falls from the sky and becomes groundwater, then the groundwater is taken up by plant roots and released into the atmosphere through transpiration.

56
Q

What are chemical substances that an organism needs to stay alive?

A

Nutrients.

57
Q

Describe one biological, geological, chemical, and human activity that is involved in the carbon cycle.

A

photosynthesis and releases the carbon it gained by breathing.
Geological: turning carbon into carbon with fossil fuel.
Chemical: carbon dioxide being exchanged through the atmosphere and ocean.
Human Activity: burning of fossil fuel.

58
Q

Unlike the flow of energy, how does matter move through the biosphere?

A

It is recycled between and within ecosystems.

59
Q

What is moved by the four biogeochemical cycles?

A

Water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus.

Biology (5 decks)

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