module 10

Question 1

ecology

Answer 1

the study of the interactions between living and nonliving things.

Question 2

population

Answer 2

a group of interbreeding organisms coexisting together

Question 3

community

Answer 3

a group of populations living and interacting in the same area

Question 4

ecosystem

Answer 4

an association of living organisms and their physical environment.

Question 5

Biome

Answer 5

a group of ecosystems classified by climate and plant life.

Question 6

Primary consumer

Answer 6

a organism that eats producers

Question 7

secondary consumer

Answer 7

an organism that eats primary consumers

Question 8

tertiary consumer

Answer 8

an organism that eats secondary consumers.

Question 9

ecological pyramid

Answer 9

a diagram that shows the biomass of organisms at each trophic level

Question 10

biomass

Answer 10

a measure of the total dry mass of organisms within a particular region.

Question 11

transpiration

Answer 11

evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant.

Question 12

watershed

Answer 12

an ecosystem where all water runoff drains into a single body of water.

Question 13

greenhouse effect

Answer 13

the process by which certain gases (principally water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane) trap heat that would otherwise escape the earth and radiate into space.

Question 14

when fruits or vegetables are imported into the U.S. from a foriegn region or country, they are always very closely inspected for insects, even though the vast majority of insects are really not harmful. why is the inspection done?

Answer 14

if an insect is not native to the U.S. were carried into the country through foreign fruits and vegetables, it could ruin the balance of the U.S. ecosystem.

Question 15

what fundamental assumption of macroevolution does mutual-ism seem to contradict?

Answer 15

mutual-ism seems to contradict the idea that organisms always battle for survival.

Question 16

in the water cycle of an ocean shore ecosystem, more water evaporates from the ocean than falls back into the ocean in the form of rain. why doesn’t the ocean lose water?

Answer 16

the ocean does not lose water because the land gets the excess water, and that excess water flows back into the ocean via surface runoff (or as runoff from a river or stream)

Question 17

what does the water cycle accomplish besides balancing the water in an ecosystem?

Answer 17

it transports nutrients with an ecosystem and even from one ecosystem to another.

Question 18

what is the possible consequence if deforestation occurs in a watershed?

Answer 18

.if too many trees and plants are removed from a watershed, to many nutrients will flow into the river,or stream, throwing off the ecosystem.

Question 19

what is the principle means by which oxygen is taken from the air? what is the principal means by which it is restored to the air?

Answer 19

.oxygen is taken from the air principally by respiration and is restored principally by photosynthesis.

Question 20

name other ways that oxygen is removed from the air.

Answer 20

Oxygen is also removed from the air by fire, ozone formation, and the rusting of metals and minerals.

Question 21

name other ways oxygen is replenished into the air.

Answer 21

Oxygen is also replaced by ozone destruction and water vapor destruction.

Question 22

name ways in which carbon dioxide is removed from the air.

Answer 22

carbon dioxide leaves the air by photosynthesis and by dissolving in the ocean.

Question 23

name ways in which carbon dioxide is replenished into the air.

Answer 23

Carbon dioxide enters the air via decomposition, fossil fuel burning, fire and respiration.

Question 24

what human activities worries people who think that global warming is a problem?

Answer 24

fuel burning, because it is a human way of adding carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Question 25

is human produced global warming occurring now?

Answer 25

No, all measurable data indicate that any warming that did take place occurred before humans really started burning fuels in earnest.

Question 26

what is nitrogen fixation? what type of organisms perform it?

Answer 26

nitrogen fixation is the process by which nitrogen gas from the atmosphere is converted into nitrogen-containing molecules that are useful to most of organisms in creation. nitrogen-fixing bacteria perform it.

Question 27

what two ways does the nitrogen in organisms get put back into the environment?

Answer 27

organisms emit some nitrogen in their wastes , and the rest is turned back into useful forms of nitrogen by the decomposers that feed on their decaying remains.