Ecosystems

Question 1

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 1

An ecosystem includes all the biotic (living) parts and the abiotic (non-living) parts of an area.

Question 2

What are the three types of organisms in an ecosystem?

Answer 2

Producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Question 3

What is a producer?

Answer 3

A producer uses sunlight energy to produce food.

Question 4

Give an example of a producer.

Answer 4

Grass.

Question 5

What is a consumer?

Answer 5

A consumer gets its energy by eating other organisms.

Question 6

What do consumers eat?

Answer 6

Producers or other consumers.

Question 7

What is a decomposer?

Answer 7

An organism that gets its energy by breaking down dead material.

Question 8

Give two examples of decomposers.

Answer 8

Bacteria and fungi.

Question 9

What happens when dead material decomposes?

Answer 9

Nutrients are released into the soil.

Question 10

How do plants use nutrients?

Answer 10

Plants absorb nutrients from the soil and use them to grow.

Question 11

What do animals do with the nutrients they get from plants?

Answer 11

Animals eat plants, taking in the nutrients they contain.

Question 12

What is nutrient cycling?

Answer 12

The transfer of nutrients through the ecosystem.

Question 13

What is a food chain?

Answer 13

A food chain shows what eats what.

Question 14

What does a food web illustrate?

Answer 14

A food web shows lots of food chains and how they overlap.

Question 15

How do changes in one part of an ecosystem affect other parts?

Answer 15

If one part changes, it affects all the other parts that depend on it.

Question 16

What happens if blackberry bushes are cut back?

Answer 16

There is less food for greenfly, leading to a possible decline in their population.

Question 17

What effect does a decline in greenfly population have on ladybirds?

Answer 17

Ladybirds have less to eat, so their populations may decline too.

Question 18

Fill in the blank: The _______ cycle shows how nutrients move through an ecosystem.

Answer 18

nutrient

Question 19

What determines the type of ecosystem that forms in an area?

Answer 19

The climate in an area determines what type of ecosystem forms.

Question 20

How many major types of ecosystems are mapped globally?

Answer 20

Seven major types of ecosystems.

Question 21

Where are tundras typically found?

Answer 21

At high latitudes (above 60° N) in Northern Europe, Canada, and Alaska.

Question 22

What are the characteristics of tundra winters and summers?

Answer 22

Winters are very cold, summers are brief, and there is little rainfall.

Question 23

What type of vegetation is found in tundras?

Answer 23

Mosses, grasses, and low shrubs.

Question 24

What is permafrost?

Answer 24

A layer of permanently frozen ground.

Question 25

What are the two types of grassland?

Answer 25

* Savannah grasslands * Temperate grasslands

Question 26

Where are savannah grasslands typically located?

Answer 26

Between the tropics.

Question 27

What are the seasonal characteristics of savannah grasslands?

Answer 27

Distinct dry and wet seasons with relatively low rainfall.

Question 28

What type of vegetation is common in savannah grasslands?

Answer 28

Most of the vegetation is grasses with a few scattered trees.

Question 29

Where are temperate grasslands found?

Answer 29

At higher latitudes with more variation in temperature and less rainfall.

Question 30

What type of trees are found in boreal forests?

Answer 30

Coniferous trees that are evergreen and have needles.

Question 31

What is another name for boreal forests?

Answer 31

Taiga.

Question 32

What are the seasonal characteristics of temperate deciduous forests?

Answer 32

Four distinct seasons with warm summers and relatively mild winters.

Question 33

What happens to deciduous trees in winter?

Answer 33

They lose their leaves to cope with colder weather.

Question 34

Where are tropical rainforests located?

Answer 34

Around the equator, between the tropics.

Question 35

What is the climate like in tropical rainforests?

Answer 35

Hot and wet all year round.

Question 36

What is a characteristic feature of tropical rainforests?

Answer 36

Dense canopies of vegetation forming distinct layers.

Question 37

Where are polar ecosystems found?

Answer 37

Around the north and south poles.

Question 38

What are the characteristics of polar ecosystems?

Answer 38

Very cold, icy, and dry with a short growing season of about two months.

Question 39

Where are hot deserts typically located?

Answer 39

Between 15° and 35° north and south of the equator.

Question 40

What is the climate like in hot deserts?

Answer 40

Very hot during the day and very cold at night.

Question 41

What type of vegetation is found in hot deserts?

Answer 41

Shrubs and cacti sparsely distributed in sandy soil.