EXAM 1 Flashcards
What is a scientific theory?
a major idea that has been supported by lots of evidence, over a long period of time, without ever being contradicted
What is science?
(a process)- a way of learning about the world around us.
What are the 8 characteristics of all living things?
- organization
- process energy
- growth and development
- reproduce
- respond the the environment
- homeostasis
- evolve
- need water
- [ ] Define homeostasis and metabolism. (NEED THE OTHER SLIDES)
Homeostasis refers to the process by which living organisms maintain a stable internal environment, despite changes in external conditions.
Metabolism is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions within the cells of living organisms.
Define ecology
ecology- the study of the interactions between organisms, and with their environment.
Define biosphere
biosphere- the entire planet Earth, and all of the organisms that inhabit it
Define ecosystem
ecosystem- all of the living things in a certain area, plus the nonliving components of the environment with which life interacts (biotic & abiotic)
What is the difference between the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem?
- biotic are living organisms
- abiotic are non-living organisms
Give two examples of abiotic components.
- water
- sunlight
- soil
Define community
community - all of the living organisms in a particular area are called the biological.
Define population (in biology).
population - all of the members of one species, or type of organism, that are living in one particular place
What do we mean by trophic levels?
“Trophic” refers to eating, or deriving nutrients. step in a nutritive series, or food chain, of an ecosystem.
Place these trophic levels in the proper order (from the bottom up): primary consumer; producer; secondary consumer; tertiary consumer
- tertiary consumer
- secondary consumer
- primary consumer
- producer
Explain the difference between the four “-vores”: carnivore, detrivore, herbivore, omnivore.
Secondary/Tertiary consumers - carnivores
Primary consumers - herbivores
Consumers (Plants/Animals) - omnivores.
Consume dead organisms - detritivores.
What is the difference between autotrophs and heterotrophs? Where do most autotrophs get their energy from?
Producers - autotrophs (self-feeding.) Get most of their energy from the sun
Consumers - heterotrophs (eat other organisms.) other feeding
Why is a food web a better representation of the relationships in an ecosystem than a food chain?
In a food chain, each organism eats in order, where in food webs consumers eat more than one prey, and organisms are eaten by more than one kind of predator.
Once energy is stored in a producer, there are four “destinations” for that energy. What are those four destinations?
- used for the produces.
- transferred to consumers.
- transferred to detritivores.
- Given off as heat.
What is the 10 percent rule, in an ecosystem?
Producers end up being transferred “10%” to Primary Consumers, and the same for Secondary and Tertiary consumers.
What is the basic formula for photosynthesis? (What goes in, and what comes out?)
6CO2 + 6H2O –> C6H12O6 + 6O2
Carbon Dioxide + Water –> Sugar + Oxygen.
Why is photosynthesis so important for all of life on Earth? (two reasons)
Glucose - all of life transforms into usable energy and the building blocks of life.
Oxygen -most living things need it/ transform glucose into usable energy.
that’s why we breathe.
What is the basic formula for cellular respiration? (What goes in, and what comes out?)
C6H12O6 + 6O2 –> 6CO2 + 6H2O, the formula is photosynthesis backwards. (mitochondria)
plus a lot of ATP/energy
- what happens in almost every cell on Earth to transfer the chemical energy stored in glucose.
What is the difference between aerobic cellular respiration and anaerobic cellular respiration?Which one is much more efficient?
Aerobic Cellular Respiration- Requires oxygen. Occurs in the mitochondria of cells. 30 ATP
Anaerobic Cellular Respiration-
Does not require oxygen. Occurs in the cytoplasm. 2 ATP
Aerobic respiration is much more efficient, producing significantly more ATP than anaerobic respiration.
What is bioaccumulation, and why is it a problem?
The increase in the concentration of toxic substances as they move up a food chain. Extremely toxic
What are the four “reservoirs” of carbon on our planet? Which of these involve slow pathways
(slow change), and which are fast?
Atmosphere/living organisms - fast pathways
Oceans/ground - slow pathways
