Living with the physical environment: Ecosystems

Question 1

Ecosystem

Answer 1

A community of plants and animals which interact each other

Question 2

Producers

Answer 2

An organism that is able to absorb energy from the sun through photosynthesis

Question 3

Consumers

Answer 3

Organisms that eat herbivores and plant matter

Question 4

Decomposers

Answer 4

Organisms such as bacteria or fungi that break down plant and animal matter

Question 5

Food chain

Answer 5

Connections between different organisms that rely upon one another as their food source

Question 6

Food web

Answer 6

A complex hierarchy of plants and animals relying on each other for food

Question 7

Nutrient cycle

Answer 7

Recycling of nutrients between living organisms and their environment

Question 8

Small scale ecosystem

Answer 8

Freshwater Pond -

Big variations in the amount of light, water and oxygen available in different parts of the pond

Reed grows around the edges

On the banks, grasses, bushes and trees grow

Question 9

Physical factors causing a change to the ecosystem

Answer 9

UK’s great storm of 87 felled forests

18th-month drought in the UK kills trees (1976–1977)

Question 10

Human factors causing a change to the ecosystem

Answer 10

Farmers remove hedges to increase the size of fields

Tree clearance for housing

Homeowner tarmacs their lawn for a driveway

North Sea cod are overfished

Question 11

Avington Park Lane, Winchester, Hampshire

Answer 11

An estate close to Winchester in Hampshire

The lack of maintenance resulted in the accumulation of silt and the growth of vegetation

This created habitats for birds, but the view of the lake was lost

Restoration occurred in 2014, it involved desilting and redefining the lake and creating new waterside habitats

Question 12

Distribution of global ecosystems

Answer 12

They form on broad belts across the world from west to east

Variations include - ocean currents, winds, distribution of land and sea