Ecology ✓

Question 1

What does population mean ?

Answer 1

total number of individuals of one species living in a habitat

Question 2

What does community mean ?

Answer 2

all the different species living in the same place

Question 3

What does habitat mean ?

Answer 3

non living, home of the species

Question 4

What does ecosystem mean ?

Answer 4

what makes up the environment

Question 5

what is the abiotic part of an ecosystem ?

Answer 5

abiotic is the physical factors of an ecosystem it is the factors that will affect the distribution of plants

Question 6

what is the biotic part of an ecosystem ?

Answer 6

biotic is the living part of an ecosystem

Question 7

what are the producers of a food chain ?

Answer 7

organisms that make their own food

Question 8

what are the primary consumers of a food chain ?

Answer 8

feed on the producers

Question 9

what are the secondary consumers of a food chain ?

Answer 9

feed on the primary consumers

Question 10

what are the tertiary consumers of a food chain ?

Answer 10

feed on the secondary consumers

Question 11

what are the decomposers of a food chain ?

Answer 11

bacteria and fungi that feed on dead organic matter. Break down the organic molecules and release heat energy by respiration

Question 12

what is a pyramid of numbers ?

Answer 12

they show the number of living organisms at each trophic level

Question 13

what is a pyramid of biomass ?

Answer 13

they show the mass of living organisms at each trophic level

Question 14

what is a pyramid of energy ?

Answer 14

they show how much energy is available at each trophic level

Question 15

how does energy transfer through a food chain ?

Answer 15

primary consumers eat producers, secondary consumers eat primary consumers, tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers

Question 16

how much energy is transferred through an ecosystem ?

Answer 16

10% of energy

Question 17

why does only 10% of energy get transferred through an ecosystem ?

Answer 17

because it is lost by growth, respiration, energy for movement, energy for digesting food, heat and feaces

Question 18

what are the stages in the carbon cycle ?

Answer 18

• carbon is cycled between the living and the non living
• carbon dioxide in the air is taken up by plants in photosynthesis
• plants use carbon dioxide to make organic molecules such as carbs proteins and lipids
• the carbon in plants enters consumers that eat the plants

Question 19

how does sulphur dioxide pollute the air ?

Answer 19

• it is released when fossil fuels are burnt

- reacts with water vapour in clouds to produce acid rain

Question 20

what gases are the greenhouse gases ?

Answer 20

• water vapour
• carbon dioxide
• nitrous oxide
• methane
• CFC’s

Question 21

how do human activities contribute to the greenhouse effect ?

Answer 21

water vapour - evaporation from water surfaces

carbon dioxide - burning fossil fuels- car exhausts and power stations

methane - land fill sites, cattle, rice fields (paddy fields)

nitrous oxide - car exhaust gases

CFC’s- from air conditioning units and fridges

Question 22

what is the enhanced greenhouse effect ?

Answer 22

an increase in greenhouse gases which means that more heat energy is trapped which leads to global warming

Question 23

what is global warming ?

Answer 23

an increase in the average surface temperature of the Earth

Question 24

what are the effects of global warming on the environment ?

Answer 24

• ice caps and glaciers melt
• sea levels rise
• flooding and loss of habitat
• climate change- hotter summers
  , wetter winters in the UK and worse hurricanes

Question 25

what are the biological consequences of sewage pollution ?

Answer 25

it can cause death of organisms in ponds, rivers and lakes, because it is adding nutrients to the environment

Question 26

what are the biological consequences of eutrophication caused by leached minerals from fertiliser ?

Answer 26

eutrophication is adding nutrients to the environment which can cause death of organisms

Question 27

how is energy transferred along a food chain ?

Answer 27

through some of that is left in the organism when it is eaten

Question 28

what is an experiment to investigate the population size of an organism in two different areas using quadrats ?

Answer 28

• pick two different locations you want to investigate
• use quadrats randomly placed
• each quadrat count how many small squares have the species in them
• calculate the average for each area

Question 29

what is a food chain ?

Answer 29

a series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of food

Question 30

what is a pyramid of energy transfer ?

Answer 30

shows energy transfer from one organism to another along the food chain

Question 31

what is a food web ?

Answer 31

a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains