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Biology > Life on Earth - 3.2, 3.3 > Flashcards

Life on Earth - 3.2, 3.3 Flashcards

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1
Q

What do biotic factors include?

A

Competition for resources disease, food availability, grazing and predation.

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2
Q

What do abiotic factors include?

A

Light intensity, moisture, pH and temperature.

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3
Q

What are biotic factors?

A

Factors that are the result of interactions with other living organisms.

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4
Q

What are abiotic factors?

A

Non-living factors.

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5
Q

What effect will competition for resources have on biodiversity and the distribution of organisms?

A

It will decrease biodiversity as one species will outcompete another for resources and limit the second species’ distribution.
For example, the larger grey squirrel is a better competitor for food than the smaller red squirrel in most woodlands.

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6
Q

What effect will disease have on biodiversity and the distribution of organisms?

A

Will reduce biodiversity and populations and if it is severe it can prevent a species being distributed in an area.
For example, the grey squirrel is resistant to squirrel poz but the red squirrel is sensitive to the disease.

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7
Q

What effect will food availability have on biodiversity and the distribution of organisms?

A

If in short supply, organisms will compete for these resources. This will reduce biodiversity.

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8
Q

What effect will grazing have on biodiversity and the distribution of organisms?

A

Grazing is not a lethal interaction as only part of the plant is eaten. However, if the grazing intensity is too high for the species concerned then this will limit distribution. Very low and very high intensities of grazing are both associated with very low biodiversity.

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9
Q

What effect will predation have on biodiversity and the distribution of organisms?

A

Predation can limit the distribution of those species that are most sensitive to the loss of individuals from their population.

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10
Q

What effect do the levels of moisture and temperature have on distribution?

A

The levels of moisture and temperature are the two most important factors in determining the distribution of the major habitat types. e.g desert, tropical, rainforest etc.

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11
Q

What effect does the pH of soil have on distribution?

A

The pH of soil determines which plants can successfully grow in the area.

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12
Q

What effect does light intensity have on distribution?

A

Light intensity varies according to latitude and season and also according to the degree of shade being caused by taller organisms in the locality.

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13
Q

What biotic factors caused by humans reduce biodiversity?

A

Habitat destruction, overhunting and overfishing.

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14
Q

What biotic factors caused by humans increase biodiversity?

A

Conservation of species

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15
Q

What could pollution from humans result in?

A

It could change the abiotic factors found in the environment, such as human-induced climate change.

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16
Q

How do you measure light intensity?

A

Use a light meter.

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17
Q

What error could you make when measuring light intensity and how do you minimise it?

A

A common error is that the person using the meter casts a shadow over the light-detecting part of the meter. To minimise this error the user must ensure that this does not happen.

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18
Q

How do you measure temperature?

A

Use a thermometer.

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19
Q

What error could you make when measuring temperature and how do you minimise it?

A

The user must remember that their hands are warm so they should not touch the thermometer when it is being used. To reduce the risk of the wrong temperature being recorded enough time must be allowed for the reading to adjust to the temperature being measured.

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20
Q

How do you measure soil pH?

A

Use a soil pH meter.

21
Q

What error could you make when measuring the pH of soil and how do you minimise it?

A

A source of error would be that the metal probe needs to be wiped clean and dried between each measurement taken. If this is not done then the contamination from the previous reading may reduce the accuracy of the measurement of the next reading.

22
Q

How do you measure soil moisture?

A

Use a soil moisture meter.

23
Q

What error could you make when measuring soil moisture and how do you minimise it?

A

The probe of the soil moisture meter must be cleaned and dried before every sample is taken to ensure accurate results.

24
Q

What are quadrats?

A

Standard shapes that are used to help the researcher look closely at an unknown area. Quadrats are used to sample plants and sometimes very slow moving animals within a certain area.

25
Q

How do you use a quadrat?

A

The quadrats are thrown randomly several times to make the estimate more reliable. The abundance of a plant type is a measure of the extent to which it occurs in an environment.

26
Q

What errors could be made when using a quadrat?

A

Not placing the quadrat randomly, the wrong size of quadrant being used or plants that are found are not identified correctly.

27
Q

What are pitfall traps?

A

Traps used to sample small invertebrates living on the soil surface of leaf litter. The animals that fall into the trap are unable to climb back out are sampled. They are placed in a random way.

28
Q

What are the limitations when using a pitfall trap?

A

It cannot be used to sample larger animals or ones that fly frequently; they can only be used for small invertebrates. The size of the trap could also be limiting.

29
Q

What errors could be made when using a pitfall trap?

A

Not placing the traps randomly, not covering the trap sufficiently (allowing predators to catch animals in trap)

30
Q

What are indicator species?

A

Species that by their presence or absence indicate environmental quality/levels of pollution.

31
Q

What are some examples of indicator species?

A

Freshwater invertebrates ( e.g mayfly in highly oxygenated water)
Lichen (indicates air pollution)

32
Q

What is a key?

A

A means of identifying sampled organisms. A series of discriminating questions, each of which has two possible answers. Written in the form of paired statements. Helps to identify any organism found if written well.

33
Q

How many stages are there in photosynthesis?

A

2

34
Q

What is the first stage of photosynthesis?

A

Light reactions.

35
Q

What happens in the light reactions stage of photosynthesis?

A

The light energy from the sun is trapped by chlorophyll in the chloroplasts and is converted into chemical energy which is used to generate ATP.

36
Q

What is photosynthesis?

A

A process carried out by all green plants. It is a process that results in the production of food in plants.

37
Q

What happens to the water used in the light reactions stage?

A

It is split to produce hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen diffuses from the cell. The hydrogen and ATP are required for the next stage of photosynthesis.

38
Q

What are both stages in photosynthesis controlled by?

A

enzymes

39
Q

learn the word equation for photosynthesis

A

home study guide pg 37

40
Q

What is the second stage of photosynthesis?

A

Carbon fixation

41
Q

What is carbon fixation?

A

A series of enzyme-controlled reactions, which use hydrogen and ATP with carbon dioxide to produce sugar.

42
Q

What is the chemical energy in sugar available for?

A

It has 3 uses, the sugar is available for respiration or the sugar can be converted into other substances such as starch (storage) and cellulose (structural)

43
Q

What are the 3 factors that restrict the rate of photosynthesis in plants?

A

-Carbon dioxide concentration
-Light intensity
-Temperature

44
Q

What happens if any of these factors are in short supply?

A

The rate of photosynthesis will not be at its optimum and the cell may not be able to make enough food to survive.

45
Q

Why is carbon dioxide needed for photosynthesis?

A

It is required to make sugar.

46
Q

Why is light needed for photosynthesis?

A

Light is required to provide energy for the light reactions, without these there will be no hydrogen or ATP to pass to carbon fixation.

47
Q

Why is the optimum temperature needed for photosynthesis?

A

The temperature affects the rate that the enzymes that are responsible for catalysing the relations in both stages can occur. If temperatures move away from the optimum then the rate of photosynthesis will decline.

48
Q

How do you answer questions where you are given a graph and you have to decide which factor is the limiting factor at a given point on a graph?

A

At any point where the line on the graph is rising, the factor increasing along the x-axis is the limiting factor.
At any point where the gradient is 0, the factor increasing along the x-axis is not the limiting factor.

Biology (5 decks)

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