Ecological relationships and energy flow

Question 1

What is energy efficiency?

Answer 1

The percentage of energy that an organism consumes that is used to make new energy

Question 2

What is the order of trophic levels?

Answer 2

Producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers

Question 3

How do you calculate the percentage of energy transferred from producers to primary consumers?

Answer 3

I mind of energy going from one trophic level to the next, (divide by), the original amount of energy at trophic level, x100

Question 4

What is the role of the Sun as an energy source?

Answer 4

Much of the suns energy is reflected by or passed through the leaf which misses the chloroplast.
Light energy is used to evaporate water from the leaves
Sunlight energy is used for photosynthesis

Question 5

What can we estimate if the species in an area by recording? Using quadrats.

Answer 5

Number – this is used when the number of individuals is easy to determine eg flowers

Percentage cover – used when it’s difficult to see where one individual stops and another starts eg.grass, percentage cover, is usually rounded to the nearest 10%

Question 6

When is random sampling carried out in fieldwork

Answer 6

When the area to be sampled is the same

Question 7

What do we do when random sampling using quadrats in fieldwork?

Answer 7

Layout, two tapes at a right angle,
Find out the x and y value from random numbers ( random numbers can be defined on the calculator)
Place the quadrat, where the numbers intersect
Random numbers are used to avoid bias

Question 8

When are belt transact used in field work with quadrants

Answer 8

Used if there is a clear transition from one area to another
The sampling is not random, but along a transact line

Question 9

How do you carry out belt transact using quadrats in fieldwork?

Answer 9

The quadrats are typically placed and and along a transect tape. if the transact is long, the quadrats are placed at set intervals along the tape.

Question 10

What is biodiversity?

Answer 10

A measure of the range of different species of organisms living in an area.

Question 11

What is community?

Answer 11

The relationship between all the living species in an area

Question 12

What is habitat?

Answer 12

The place where an organism lives and breads

Question 13

What is the ecosystem?

Answer 13

The relationship between the living species and their environment

Question 14

What is an environment?

Answer 14

The surroundings in which organisms live

Question 15

What is population?

Answer 15

The number of organisms of a single species in a given habitat

Question 16

Water biotic factors

Answer 16

 the living factors eg plants and animals

Question 17

What are abiotic factors?

Answer 17

Nonliving factors eg temp and ph

Question 18

How do we find the population of a species in an area?

Answer 18

Quadrats

Question 19

What equipment do you use to measure light intensity?

Answer 19

Light meter

Question 20

What equipment do you use to measure temperature?

Answer 20

Thermometer

Question 21

How do you measure wind speed?

Answer 21

Using an anemometer

Question 22

How do you measure water availability?

Answer 22

Rain gauge or dry soil sample

Question 23

How do you measure pH?

Answer 23

PH meter, soil, testing, kit, or probe

Question 24

Examples of biotic factors

Answer 24

Plants, animals, bacteria, algae, fungi

Question 25

What is the source of energy for most communities of living organisms?

Answer 25

Radiation from the Sun

Question 26

What do the arrows in the food chain/web represent?

Answer 26

The consumption and transfer of substances and energy

Question 27

What is an advantage and disadvantage of using pyramid of numbers

Answer 27

Advantage - Easy to count, No organisms killed
Disadvantage – ignores size of organisms , difficult to convert

Question 28

What is biomass?

Answer 28

The mass of living material

Question 29

What is an advantage and disadvantage of using pyramid of biomass

Answer 29

Advantage – and amount of energy in a trophic level is taken accurately represented, takes into count to the size of an organism
Disadvantage - the organism must be collected or killed, it’s difficult to catch and weigh, the biomass can differ throughout the year.

Question 30

What do food chains Describe

Answer 30

The order in which energy passes through living organisms

Question 31

How is energy lost through a food chain?

Answer 31

Used to make new body tissue.
Used in respiration.
Kinetic energy for movement.
Lost through excretion.
Reproduction

Question 32

Why are most food chains relatively short

Answer 32

Because of HD of energy transfer, some energy is lost

Question 33

Why is food production more efficient if the food chain is short

Answer 33

Because a higher percentage of energy is available to us