Photosynthesis and Ecology Flashcards
What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
Carbon Dioxide + Water –> Oxygen + Glucose
What is photosynthesis used for?
So the plant can create its own food from glucose
What conditions are necessary for a plant to grow and do photosynthesis?
Co2 in the air
Constant watering
What does a plant use to absorb light energy?
Chlorophyll
What is the first step in the Testing for Starch practical?
Heat a plant leaf in boiling water for 30 seconds
What does boiling the leaf in water do to the leaf?
This kills the leaf
Stops any chemical reactions
Kills the enzymes
What liquid will you then boil the leaf in?
Ethanol
What does boiling the leaf in ethanol do?
The boiling ethanol dissolves the chlorophyll and removes the green colour from the leaf, it will turn white, breaks the outer protective cells of a leaf
What will you do after you have boiled the leaf in ethanol?
Wash with water to rehydrate and soften the leaf and spread it onto a white tile
What is the liquid used to test for starch?
Iodine Solution
Once dropping iodine on the leaf what will happen?
After a few minutes, the parts of the leaf that contain starch turn the iodine from brown to blue/black.
If the leaf is left in a dark room why would it be yellow after Iodine?
No photosynthesis can occur.
No starch
What happened to the starch in the leaf?
Used all of the reserves of starch to make glucose
What is the Independent Variable in the test on the affect of light intensity?
Light Intensity
What is the Dependent Variable in the test on the affect of light intensity?
Amount of Bubbles released
What are the Control Variables in the test on the affect of light intensity?
Pondweed, Length of Pondweed, temperature, CO2 levels
How long will you time the pondweed for each time?
1 minute
How many time could you repeat the light intensity experiment?
10 times
What should the pattern be at the end of the experiment?
As the light intensity decreases the rate of photosynthesis will decrease.
What must you let the pondweed do before beginning the experiment?
Allow pondweed to acclimatise to temperature.
Give the definition of a population?
Number of individuals of a species in a habitat
Give the definition of a community?
All the individuals of all the species in a habitat
Give the definition of a ecosystem?
All non-living and living species in one habitat
What is the definition of abiotic factors?
Non-living factors in the ecosystem
Give examples of abiotic factors? (4 factors)
Moisture, temperature, wind, gases
What is the definition of biotic factors?
Living factors in the ecosystem
Give examples of biotic factors? (4 factors)
Predators, competition, prey, pathogens
What are the 4 stages of a food web?
Producer, Primary consumer, Secondary Consumer, Tertiary consumer
What do the arrows in a food chain mean?
Where energy is transferred
Why are the food chains so short?
Because by the tertiary consumer most of the energy has been passed on already
How is energy lost in animals? (4 ways)
Respiration
Non digestible parts (Bones)
Urine and Faeces
Heat energy
What does saprotroph mean?
Feed off the dead
What are the primary consumers usually: Carnivore, Omnivore or Herbivore?
Herbivore
What are the secondary consumers usually: Carnivore, Omnivore or Herbivore?
Carnivore
What are the tertiary consumers usually: Carnivore, Omnivore or Herbivore?
Carnivore
What are tertiary consumers usually known as?
Apex Predators
What can you use to estimate the amount of flowers in a field?
A Quadrant
What should you first do when getting to your field?
Measure out a x and y axis with measuring tape. It should be 10m by 10m
What should be used and done to be able to place your quadrant in a random place?
Use a random number generator on a calculator. Use the last two digits.
What should you do once having found your coordinates?
Place quadrant on given coordinate and count the amount of flowers (or species) you see.
How many times should you repeat the quadrant experiment?
10 times
When plotting a pyramid of biomass what must you do when plotting it?
Make sure each side is the same distance across (total distance halved) and make sure every rectangle is the same height.
Why is a pyramid of biomass better than a pyramid of numbers?
Shows mass of living organisms representing the chemical energy
What does CORMS stand for?
C- Change
O - Organism
R - Repetition
M - Measure
S - Same
