Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

AcaDec 2024_25 Climate > Science Section 2 - Part 2 > Flashcards

Science Section 2 - Part 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What field focuses on interactions between biotic and abiotic factors of a specific location?

A

ecosystems

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Scientists calculate the number of species in an area PRIMARILY to understand the

A

degree of biological diversity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Roughly how many genes do humans have?

A

30,000 genes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What type of value assessment focuses on the benefit species give to humans?

A

instrumental value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Biodiversity primarily originates from

A

genetic variation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Traits such as body size and eye color contribute to an organism’s

A

phenotype

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Genes are structurally organized in

A

chromosomes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

A cross between a red snapdragon and a white snapdragon produces snapdragons with

A

pink petals
Info: Snapdragons with red petals have the AA genotype, and snapdragons with white petals have the BB genotype. A cross between these two flowers will result in progeny with an AB genotype that corresponds to pink petals.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Alleles of different dogs combine to cause variations in all of the following categories

A

color, size, temperament, shape
Not in species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

New alleles arise through

A

mutations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Mendel conducted his genetic studies using

A

pea plants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Which of the following phenotypic distributions BEST describes the expected phenotypes of the F2 generation of a cross between smooth pea plants and wrinkled pea plants?
a. all pea plants have smooth peas
b. one wrinkled pea plant for every smooth pea plant
c. three wrinkled pea plants for every smooth pea plant
d. all pea plants have wrinkled peas
e. three smooth pea plants for every wrinkled pea plant

A

three smooth pea plants for every wrinkled pea plant

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

All of the following types of variation are types of genotypic diversity

A

within individual organisms, among species, among individuals within a population, among populations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Speciation through genetic divergence typically occurs through mechanisms at the level of a(n)

A

population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What term describes an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce?

A

fitness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Sickle-cell disease has a disproportionate effect on individuals from

A

Africa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

To which disease does the sickle-cell disease allele confer resistance?

A

malaria

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Charles Darwin worked as a naturalist for the HMS

A

HMS Beagle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Charles Darwin made all of the following observations EXCEPT
a. many species displayed phenotypic variation
b. all members within a species had the same fitness
c. very few offspring survived
d. more progeny were produced than the number of parents
e. there was evidence that some species had died out

A

all members within a species had the same fitness

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

In 1859, Charles Darwin published

A

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

The field of evolution defines adaptation as

A

optimization for a specific environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Which response would an environmental scientist consider an adaptation?
a. A plant has waxy leaves to present water loss.
b. A dog pants to cool off.
c. A person puts on sunscreen to prevent skin cancer.
d. A bee flies towards a meadow to find food.
e. A tree drops some leaves to conserve water.

A

A plant has waxy leaves to present water loss.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Rapid environmental change such as that caused by humans MOST often causes species to

A

struggle to adapt

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What evolutionary term BEST describes migration between populations?

A

gene flow

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Which of the following examples leads to genetic drift?
a. A population of snakes decreases to twenty because of disease.
b. Increased selection pressure from hawks means only the fastest mice survive.
c. Geographic isolation leads one species to diverge into two.
d. An abundance of water allows more elephants to survive and reproduce.
e. Two populations of birds meet, and some birds from each population decide to mate.

A

Two populations of birds meet, and some birds from each population decide to mate.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The bottleneck effect in cheetahs resulted in cheetahs with the genetic similarity of

A

identical twins

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What percentage of sperm from cheetahs have an irregularity?

A

70 percent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

About how many years passed between the evolution of prokaryotes and eukaryotes?

A

1.8 billion years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Which of the following populations would evolve MOST quickly?
a. small, genetically consistent population under slow environmental change
b. large, genetically diverse population under rapid environmental change
c. small, genetically diverse population under rapid environmental change
d. large, genetically consistent population under slow environmental change
e. large, genetically consistent population under rapid environmental change

A

small, genetically diverse population under rapid environmental change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

By definition, a fossil has been

A

buried

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

The deepest layer of the fossil record contains the

A

oldest fossils

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What did scientists use to organize the geologic time scale?

A

fossil record

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

The first instance of bacteria in the fossil record occurred

A

3.5 billion years ago

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What organisms exists in both the fossil record and the present day?

A

ginkgo tree

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What volcanic eruption contributed to the largest known mass extinction in Earth’s history?

A

Siberian Traps erupted at the end of the Paleozoic Era

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

The mass extinction responsible for the end of the dinosaurs occurred in the

A

K-T boundary, which delineates the transition from the Cretaceous Period to the Tertiary Period, saw the extinction of the dinosaurs.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

What concepts describes the positive relationship between available habitat and number of species supported?

A

species-area relationship

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

Species richness describes the

A

economic impact of a species

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

How many mass extinctions happened in the past 450 million years, not including the current mass extinction?

A

five

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

How many years passed before biodiversity recovered in previous mass extinctions?

A

ten million to 100 million years

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

What term BEST describes how humans contributed to the extinction of the dodo?

A

overexploitation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

Fragmentation has all of the following effects EXCEPT
a. reducing genetic drift in populations
b. increasing habitat on an edge
c. reducing continuous habitat space
d. inhibiting movement for feeding and mating
e. reducing gene flow between populations

A

reducing genetic drift in populations

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
43
Q

What organisms gains the GREATEST benefit from habitat fragmentation? small mammals, mountain lions, raccoons, skunks, plants, birds

A

Raccoons and skunks tend to live on forest edges, which increase in number with habitat fragmentation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
44
Q

In which decade did the zebra mussel arrive at the Great Lakes?

A

1980s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
45
Q

The field of ecology consists of the study of how

A

organisms interact with the environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
46
Q

An individual organism’s survival in a certain environment depends most on the

A

abiotic conditions of the habitat

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
47
Q

Ecologists define conditions as

A

chemical and physical determinants of survival and growth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
48
Q

What condition affects terrestrial systems to a large extent?

A

phosphorus levels, solar radiation, temperature, precipitation, and nutrient availability

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
49
Q

What conditions have a large impact on aquatic environments?

A

oxygen gradients, salinity, temperature, and light from the sun

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
50
Q

How are organisms distributed across environmental conditions?

A

Every environmental condition supports at least some organisms.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
51
Q

The baobab tree originates from

A

East Africa

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
52
Q

To describe the two abiotic conditions most responsible for species distribution, scientists created the index of

A

evapotranspiration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
53
Q

A species’s range of tolerance describes the

A

environmental conditions where a species can survive

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
54
Q

How do resources differ from conditions?

A

Organisms use up resources, while conditions do not become unavailable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
55
Q

Large salt marshes exist in the

A

eastern coast of the United States

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
56
Q

Which percentage of salt marsh biomass consists of only a few species?

A

95 percent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
57
Q

A graph of population size over a range of environmental conditions most resembles a

A

bell curve

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
58
Q

What factor of a salt marsh would scientists classify as a resource for the grasses?

A

oxygen, so the grasses can conduct photosynthesis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
59
Q

Which factor MOST strongly predicts the extinction of a species?
a. abundance of food resources
b. small population size
c. increased human activity
d. limited genetic diversity
e. habitat loss

A

small population size

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
60
Q

An intraspecific interaction consists of interactions between

A

individuals in the same population

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
61
Q

What organism did Georgy Gause use to study density-dependent growth?

A

Paramecia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
62
Q

Georgy Gause studied the growth of organisms with

A

sufficient resources, optimum environment, and limited space

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
63
Q

Limits on factors influencing density-dependent growth cause populations to grow following a(n)

A

logistic growth model

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
64
Q

The logistic growth model does NOT operate under the assumption that
a. populations receive unlimited space and resources
b. population density and growth rate have a linear relationship
c. population density measurements use appropriate units
d. the distribution of ages stays the same across population sizes
e. population growth rate changes immediately in response to changes in population density

A

populations receive unlimited space and resources

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
65
Q

How many years pass in each cycle of the whooping crane growth curve?

A

10 years

66
Q

The manager of a commercial fishery seeks to produce the

A

maximum sustainable yield

67
Q

Which biologist created a logistic growth model to establish limits on fishing in 1935?

A

M. Graham

68
Q

What location held the fishery with the highest yield until 1972?

A

Peru, an anchovy fishery with estimated sustainable yield of 10 million anchovies per year

69
Q

What event caused environmental changes that disrupted anchovy populations?

A

El Niño

70
Q

What factors are density independent?

A

hurricanes, fires, floods, volcanic activity

71
Q

Davidson and Andrewartha studied the effect of plant availability on the population size of

A

Thrips imaginis

72
Q

What term describes a population with geography-based subgroups?

A

metapopulation

73
Q

What factors contributes to extinction in a deterministic way?

A

limitations on space

74
Q

What species of Paramecium served as the subjects of Georgy Gause’s 1934 study?

A

P. caudatum and P. aurelia

75
Q

Gause’s isolated cultures of Paramecium grew to a high density in

A

10 days

76
Q

All of the following factors can become a limiting resource EXCEPT; temperature, space, food, oxygen, soil nutrients

A

temperature

77
Q

What principle outlines the concept that two species cannot share a limiting resource?

A

competitive exclusion
Info: Competitive exclusion states that competition between species for a limiting resource will result in the extinction of one species

78
Q

What plant naturally outcompetes barley crops in the Great Plains?

A

wild oats

79
Q

Ecologists define a niche as

A

a species’ job in a community

80
Q

How do ecologists generally define predation?

A

using another species as a resource

81
Q

All of the following warblers use niche partitioning to survive off of spruce trees EXCEPT
a. Blackburnian warbler
b. black-throated green warbler
c. willow warbler
d. myrtle warbler
e. Cape May warbler

A

willow warbler

82
Q

Which adjective BEST describes predation?
a. intraspecific
b. mutualistic
c. density-independent
d. density-dependent
e. commensalistic

A

density-dependent

83
Q

What aspect of ecology can scientists study MOST easily in a laboratory environment?

A

predator-prey cycles

84
Q

How long must scientists collect data to study natural predator-prey cycles?

A

several decades

85
Q

The direct relationship between prey and predator densities contributes to

A

the numerical response, describes the tendency of predator density to relate directly to prey density.

86
Q

Which of the following scenarios exemplifies the functional response?
a. Bird populations decrease because insect population densities decrease.
b. A tree sheds its leaves to prevent water loss during the dry season.
c. A population of honeybees only pollinates one species of wildflower.
d. As beetle populations decrease, birds start to eat crickets instead of beetles.
e. Hummingbirds evolve longer beaks to reach the nectar in a flower.

A

As beetle populations decrease, birds start to eat crickets instead of beetles.

87
Q

What do ecologists call mutualism?

A

reciprocal exploitation

88
Q

How many species of fig trees exist?

A

900
Info: Each fig tree species has a mutualistic relationship with a separate type of fig wasp

89
Q

Communities consist of

A

several populations coexisting in one habitat

90
Q

Food webs do NOT

A

typically collapse with the loss of any species in the food web

91
Q

Which description BEST defines keystone species?
a. native species in a community
b. species with low relative abundance but high community impact
c. the most abundant species in a community
d. species with the greatest level of genetic diversity in a community
e. key energy producers in the community

A

species with low relative abundance but high community impact

92
Q

What organism controlled Mytilus populations in the Pacific Coast intertidal community?

A

Pisaster, a sea star
Info: The sea star Pisaster maintained populations of Mytilus mussels in the Pacific Coast intertidal, making Pisaster a keystone species. Without Pisaster, eight additional species died out because of competition with the mussels.

93
Q

In the Greater Yellowstone food web, pine martens consume

A

pika, Pacific tree frongs, and Douglas’s squirrels

94
Q

Scientists classify species with high proportions of biomass and a large impact on a community as

A

dominant species

95
Q

What animals are keystone pollinators of the South Pacific islands?

A

Old World fruit bats, also called flying foxes

96
Q

What keystone species affects the community through mutualism with another species?

A

mycorrhizal fungi, grow on the roots of trees, promoting tree growth by improving how trees obtain nutrients.

97
Q

Species replace others in a community over time in the process of

A

succession

98
Q

What event leads to primary succession?

A

glacial scouring or volcanic eruption, which causes the land to lose its soil surface

99
Q

Scientists once described the last stage of succession in a forest with the obsolete term

A

climax forest

100
Q

To which state would an ecologist travel to study Organ Cave?

A

West Virginia

101
Q

What organism lives part-time in Organ Cave?

A

bats, they sleep in Organ Cave
Crayfish, isopods, and amphipods inhabit the cave all of the time

102
Q

Ecologists study Organ Cave as a(n)

A

input-output system for water and energy

103
Q

In ecology, the First Law of Thermodynamics indicates that

A

the energy within carnivores cannot exceed the energy within herbivores

104
Q

What equations describes the overall process of photosynthesis?

A

CO2 + H2O + Sun energy → CH2O + O2

105
Q

Primary productivity consists of

A

the rate of biomass production

106
Q

Net primary productivity accounts for

A

energy used for respiration

107
Q

Primary producers typically have an energy efficiency of

A

1 percent

108
Q

The term “trophic level” comes from the Greek word for

A

nourishment

109
Q

If the grass in a field with ten percent transfer efficiency has a biomass of 1,000 g/m2, the secondary consumers in the field will have a biomass of

A

10 g/m2

110
Q

What diagram BEST shows how much energy moves between trophic levels?

A

ecological pyramid

111
Q

Who co-founded a project to research the Hubbard Brook ecosystem?

A

Gene Likens

112
Q

In a grassland ecosystem, frogs are a

A

secondary consumer

113
Q

Ecosystems differ from populations and communities in that ecosystems

A

are self-contained

114
Q

Why can scientists identify aquatic ecosystems more easily than terrestrial ecosystems?

A

Aquatic ecosystems have a clearer boundary between land and water.

115
Q

Scientists consider all of the following events disturbances

A

clearing land for agriculture, a large hurricane, natural forest fires, sudden ice storms

116
Q

Ecologists define resilience as

A

an ecosystem’s ability to recover

117
Q

Ecosystems with no disturbances are MOST likely to

A

have one dominant species

118
Q

Ecologists define biomes as

A

regions with distinct types of species

119
Q

What drives the circulation of water and air around the planet?

A

solar energy flux

120
Q

Why do certain regions of the Earth receive more solar energy than others?

A

Sunlight hits different locations at different angles, so energy distribution over a certain surface area varies

121
Q

What term describes the cycle of air from the equator to 30 degrees north or south of the equator?

A

Hadley cell

122
Q

Scientists describe atmospheric circulation in the west-east direction with the term

A

Coriolis effect

123
Q

In what direction do oceanic currents of the Northern Hemisphere move?

A

clockwise

124
Q

What biome exists at the lowest levels of precipitation and coldest annual temperatures?

A

tundra

125
Q

The majority of vegetation found in tropical dry forests consists of

A

deciduous trees

126
Q

Scientists have identified temperate broadleaf forests in all of the following regions

A

southern Canada, Europe, eastern United States, and eastern Asia
BUT NOT in southern Africa

127
Q

The common name for a grassland in central Asia is

A

steppe

128
Q

What percentage represents the highest typical level of desert productivity relative to tropical rainforests?

A

5 percent

129
Q

What organism produces MOST of the energy available to freshwater communities?

A

phytoplankton

130
Q

What percentage of the Earth consists of ocean?

A

71 percent

131
Q

At what depth does the ocean contain the most biodiversity?

A

2,000 to 3,000 meters

132
Q

Scientists classify all of the following regions as freshwater wetlands

A

marshes, peatlands, bogs, and swamps

133
Q

Of an organism’s dry weight, macronutrients typically make up at least

A

0.1%

134
Q

Micronutrients include all of the following elements

A

boron, manganese, iron, and molybdenum

135
Q

What phenomenon consists of the movement of elements throughout the biosphere?

A

biogeochemical cycles

136
Q

What elements has the GREATEST effect on plant productivity?

A

nitrogen and carbon

137
Q

Plants lose water through their leaves in the process of

A

transpiration

138
Q

What energy source drives the hydrologic cycle?

A

solar energy

139
Q

What time period BEST represents the mean residence time of water on land?

A

403 years
Info: Terrestrial water, found on land and in animals, has a mean residence time of 403 years. [

140
Q

What process DOES NOT drive the carbon cycle?

A

evapotranspiration
Info: Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and combustion drive the carbon cycle.

141
Q

What process describes the use of carbon dioxide to create plant tissues?

A

carbon fixation

142
Q

How does respiration differ from combustion?

A

Combustion is abiotic, while respiration is biotic.

143
Q

How has human activity affected the carbon cycle?

A

Human activity moved the carbon cycle out of a steady state.

144
Q

What human practice negatively affects the carbon cycle?

A

slash-and-burn agriculture

145
Q

Organisms need nitrogen because of its importance for

A

amino acids

146
Q

What percentage of the Earth’s atmosphere consists of nitrogen?

A

78%

147
Q

What process follows ammonification in the nitrogen cycle?

A

nitrification
Info: The process of nitrification uses ammonium from ammonification to create nitrite, then nitrate. Plants rely on nitrate as a crucial nutrient.

148
Q

All biodiversity ultimately derives from

A

genetic diversity

149
Q

What MOST commonly explains why individuals often fail to express a certain trait despite carrying the allele for that trait?

A

Some alleles are dominant over others.

150
Q

All of the following processes are evolutionary mechanisms EXCEPT
a. natural selection
b. succession
c. gene flow
d. genetic drift
e. adaptation

A

succession

151
Q

How many “known” species exist today?

A

1.8 million known species

152
Q

How do scientists typically measure the current extinction rate?

A

by estimating habitat loss

153
Q

Population ecology is the study of the

A

abundance and distribution of species

154
Q

What population regulators is density-independent?

A

extreme weather

155
Q

What role do green plants and algae play in a food web?

A

producers

156
Q

Why would the extinction of a single species most likely NOT affect the long-term health of the entire community?

A

Other species in the same trophic level can fulfill the role of the extinct species.

157
Q

Which two factors play the MOST important role in controlling the formation of biomes?

A

temperature and moisture

158
Q

How many major types of terrestrial biomes exist?

A

10

159
Q

Wetlands, lakes, and rivers are all examples of

A

freshwater environments

160
Q

Why is nitrogen important for life on Earth?

A

It is a critical component of DNA and proteins.

AcaDec 2024_25 Climate (26 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions