Energy, energy cycles, organism organization

Question 1

the ability to do work (including heating)

Answer 1

energy

Question 2

Forms of energy

Answer 2

Kinetic energy and potential energy

Question 3

Energy due to motion

Answer 3

Kinetic energy

Question 4

thermal energy

Answer 4

microscale

Question 5

rigid body motion

Answer 5

macroscale

Question 6

Energy that is stored, and may eventually be released

Answer 6

potential energy

Question 7

chemical energy

Answer 7

microscale

Question 8

gravitational energy

Answer 8

macroscale

Question 9

study of how energy is transferred

Answer 9

Thermodynamics

Question 10

energy is conserved, neither created nor destroyed, can only be recycled

Answer 10

1st law

Question 11

each energy transfer reduces the amount of energy available to do work

Answer 11

2nd law

Question 12

Entropy (i.e., chaos/disorder)

Answer 12

tends to increase in all natural systems so, we need a constant input of energy to maintain life.

Question 13

Main transfer processes

Answer 13

work and heat

Question 14

applying a force over a certain distance

Answer 14

work

Question 15

energy transferred between objects of different temperature

Answer 15

heat

Question 16

capturing energy from sun, air, and water

Answer 16

photosynthesis

Question 17

energy sources

Answer 17

solar and chemical energy

Question 18

Performed by primary producers/plants
How much energy? 1,372 joules per second per square meter
½ reflected/absorbed by clouds, dust, gases
½ that reaches us – 10% UV, 45% visible, 45% IR
Most absorbed by land/water or reflected into space
Only 1–2% of sunlight that reaches plants used for photosynthesis

Answer 18

photosynthesis

Question 19

capturing energy from inorganic compounds (e.g., deep sea bacteria)

Answer 19

Chemosynthesis

Question 20

Water molecules are split, oxygen is released
Source of nearly all oxygen in the atmosphere
Source of many complex organic molecules

Answer 20

photosynthesis

Question 21

fuel is decomposed to release energy
Carbon and hydrogen are split from sugar molecules
Combined with oxygen to recreate carbon dioxide and water

Answer 21

cellular respiration

Question 22

Most water stored in oceans, but cycles throughout planet via evaporation, precipitation, and percolation
Human impacts - pollution

Answer 22

hydrologic cycle

Question 23

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration, sedimentation and fossil fuel burning
Human impact – shortening residence time of carbon in carbon sinks (sedimentary deposits, forests), increasing net atmospheric CO2

Answer 23

carbon cycle

Question 24

Nitrogen fixing and bacterial decomposition is key
Human impact – synthetic fertilizers, nitrogen-fixing crops, fossil fuel burning  more nitrogen than land can process
Eutrophication of water (nutrient overloading  explosion of plant live  oxygen consumption during decay)
acidification of water
Increase in atmospheric N2O

Answer 24

nitrogen cycle

Question 25

No atmospheric component
Sedimentation and erosion based, very slow
Human impacts – increased mining for use in fertilizers, detergents
Runoff into water - eutrophication

Answer 25

phosphorous cycle

Question 26

Most stored in rocks and minerals
Released via weathering, deep sea vents, and volcanic eruptions
Human impacts – decreased residence time via fossil fuel extraction and burning
Increased atmospheric sulfuric acid leads to acid rain
Sulfur dioxide can cause health and vegetation damage but also might offset GHGs by providing cloud cover, thus increasing Earth’s reflectivity

Answer 26

sulfur cycle

Question 27

organisms of the same kind

Answer 27

species

Question 28

all members of a species living in a given area at the same time

Answer 28

population

Question 29

all populations living and interacting in a given area

Answer 29

biological community

Question 30

biological community and its physical environment; productivity – amount of biomass produced in an area in a given time

Answer 30

ecosystem

Question 31

feeding status of an organism

Answer 31

trophic level

Question 32

Energy transfer between trophic levels

Answer 32

General rule – 10% moves from one level to the next

Question 33

feeding categories

Answer 33

Autotrophs
Herbivores
Carnivores
Omnivores
Scavengers
Detritivores
Decomposer

Question 34

individual chain of who eats whom in an ecosystem

Answer 34

food chain

Question 35

multiple food chains interconnected

Answer 35

food webs

Question 36

illustrates how energy moves through a ecosystem

Answer 36

ecological pyramid