Part 1 Flashcards
What directs protein production?
The DNA and RNA
Where is the hereditary information stored?
In the DNA
What is a genome?
The genome is the whole set of genes (regions of the DNA performing a particular function)
What is the subdivision of a gene?
Chromosomes
What is the smallest unit of life
Cells are the smallest unit of life that can function independently
When and what first forms of life evolved?
Prokaryotes, 3.5 Billion years ago
Which cells have animals, plants and fungi in common?
Eukariotic cells
What is a tissue?
Cells of the same function form a tissue
What is an organ?
Cells of the same function which formed a tissue which together form an organ
What is a potential energy?
The potential energy of chemical substances is the energy they held in the bonds between the atoms. Breaking down larger molecules through a chemical reaction releases this potential energy as heat or kinetic energy
What is an ecozone?
Ecozone is the larges scale biogeographic division of the earth’s surface.
On what features an ecozone is based?
It is based on the historic and evolutionary distribution patterns of plants and animals.
Name some ecozones
Nearctic, Palearctic, Afrotropic, Neotropic, Indomalaya, Australasia
What is a biome?
A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of similar communities of plants, animals and soil organisms. There are terrestrial and aquatic biomes
Name some biomes
Desert, Tundra, Boreal forests, Tropical rain forest, Tropical dry forest, Savanna
When did the biosphere evolve?
Some 3.5 billions years ago
What is the lithosphere?
The lithosphere is the solid outermost shell of a rocky planet. It is fragmented into tectonic plates.
At what temperature does water have maximum density?
4 degree celsius
why doesn’t ice sink to the bottom of a water body in winter?
Cold water sinks to the bottom of water bodies and supplies with nutrients and oxygen. Ice floats on water protecting lower layers from freezing
How is acidity expressed?
It is expressed as pH = -log [H+]
Explain the pH scale
It comprises 14 orders of magnitude. ph 7 is neutral.
What does the earth’s hydrosphere consist of?
consist of water in all forms, oceans, inland seas, lakes and rivers, rain, underground water, ice, atmospheric water vapor in form of clouds
Share of water on Earth?
70.8 percent of the earth is coverd by water. Of this 97 percent is sea water and 3 percent fresh water
When was the most recent withdrawal of the ice sheets?
It was 10.000 - 12.000 years ago which lead to an interglacial period known as the Holocene
What is the water cycle
The water cycle describes the methods of transport for water in the HYDROSPHERE.
What is ecology
ecology is the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and the environment.
What is the photic zone
The top 10m surface zone of oceans which absorbs 80% of solar energy.
Phythoplankton
First step in the marine food chain. Is produced in the photic zone
Which species was the first which produced oxygen
The Cyanobacteria, 3.3 billion years ago. Made this by Photosynthesis based on the consumption of carbon dioxide
What is the major driving force for atmospheric circulation
Solar radiation. Is stronger at the equator than in the polar region
What is the Hadley Cell
The Hadley cell is a tropical atmospheric circulation which features rising motion near the equator, poleward flow 10–15 kilometers above the surface, descending motion in the subtropics, and equatorward flow near the surface.
Name the four most important biogeochemical cycles
The carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, Phosphorus cycle and Oxygen cycle
What is the carbon cycle
It is a biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged between biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
Name four major carbon reservoirs
- The atmosphere
- Terrestrial biosphere ( includes freshwater systems and non living organic material such as soil carbon)
- Oceans (includes dissolved inorganic carbon and living and non living biota)
- Sediments (Includes fossil fuels)
How much carbon is in the ocean
38.000 Gt
How much carbon is in the atmosphere
It exists mostly as CO2, small part of Atmosphere with around 0.04%
Where is carbon in the biosphere
living specie, inorganic carbonates such as shells
Where is carbon in the lithosphere
As inorganic carbonate rocks or dead organic matter like coal, oil and natural gas.
Where is carbon in the hydrosphere
Mostly dissolved Carbon Dioxide, suspended carbonates or dead organic matter.
What are autotrophs?
Self feeding organism such as Algea, plants which produce complex organic compounds from simple substances. They uses techniques like photosynthesis.
Which two organisms are the two most important ones for the carbon cycle?
Trees in forests and phytoplankton
How does Photosynthesis work?
Sun is shining, plants perform photosynthesis to convert CO2 into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen in the process. Chlorophyll is vital for that process because the molecules absorb light and transfer that light energy to the cell.
What is the chemical formula for Photosynthesis?
6CO2 + 6H2O + hv –> C6H12O6 (Glucose) + 6 O2
What is the nitrogen cycle
Nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle that describes the transformations of nitrogen and nitrogen-containing compounds in nature.
How much Nitrogen is in earths atmospehere
78 percent
Where is Nitrogen contained?
It is in all amino acids, is incorporated in proteins and is present in the basis that make up nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA.
What is nitrogen fixation
Conversion of gaseous nitrogen into forms usable by living organisms. It is done by bacteria
What is assimilation (in the case of Nitrogen)
Most plants can absorb nitrate or ammonium ions from the soil via their root hairs
What is a fertilizer?
Compounds given to plants to promote growth. They are either organic or inorganic. They provide nutrients to plants. The major ones are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
What and how the Haber-Bosch Process works?
Developed 1910, produces Ammonia NH3. It produces via high temperature and pressure reactions between hydrogen and atmospheric nitrogen. NH3 is used to produce nitrogen fertilizers and the Haber-Bosch Procedure produces 100 million tons of nitrogen fertilizers each year.
