Topic 1: Energy and Matter Exchange

Question 1

What is the first law of thermodynamics?

Answer 1

Energy cannot be created or destroyed but it can be transformed.

Question 2

What is the second law of thermodynamics?

Answer 2

No machine or energy can be 100% efficient.

Question 3

Where does 100% of the Earth’s energy come from?

Answer 3

The sun.

Question 4

What is radiant energy?

Answer 4

A type of kinetic energy that is transferred/transmitted through elementary particles (photons).

Question 5

What does albedo refer to?

Answer 5

The amount of energy reflected by clouds, water, and land.

Question 6

What is photosynthesis?

Answer 6

The process by which producers convert radiant energy from the sun into chemical potential energy.

Question 7

What is the chemical equation for photosynthesis?

Answer 7

6CO2 (g) + 6H2O (l) → C6H12O6 (s) + 6O2 (g).

Question 8

What do autotrophs do?

Answer 8

Create their own food by using the sun’s energy.

Question 9

How do heterotrophs obtain energy?

Answer 9

From other organisms.

Question 10

What is cellular respiration?

Answer 10

The process when consumers convert the chemical energy stored in the bonds of glucose into ATP.

Question 11

What are primary consumers?

Answer 11

Organisms that eat plants (herbivores).

Question 12

What are secondary consumers?

Answer 12

Organisms that mainly eat herbivores (carnivores/omnivores).

Question 13

What are tertiary consumers?

Answer 13

Organisms that mainly eat other carnivores.

Question 14

What role do decomposers play in an ecosystem?

Answer 14

They absorb leftover waste/matter.

Question 15

What is meant by trophic levels?

Answer 15

The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, consisting of producers, primary consumers, and so on.

Question 16

What does the second law of thermodynamics imply for food chains?

Answer 16

10% of energy is lost as you move up the food chain.

Question 17

What is a food chain?

Answer 17

A series of organisms that eat one another, transferring energy throughout the food chain.

Question 18

What is a food web?

Answer 18

A representation of energy transfer within an ecosystem, showing how some organisms feed at multiple trophic levels.

Question 19

What is the rule of 10 in energy transfer?

Answer 19

10% of the energy at one trophic level is transferred to the next.

Question 20

What are ecological pyramids?

Answer 20

Models used to depict feeding relationships among different trophic levels in an ecosystem.

Question 21

What does the pyramid of numbers represent?

Answer 21

The number of organisms in a certain area.

Question 22

What does the pyramid of biomass measure?

Answer 22

The dry mass of living organisms without water weight.

Question 23

What does the pyramid of energy show?

Answer 23

The amount of energy that is transferred through each trophic level.

Question 24

True or False: The pyramid of energy can point to energy being less at lower trophic levels.

Answer 24

False.

Question 25

Fill in the blank: Photosynthesis converts light energy into _______.

Answer 25

chemical potential energy.

Question 26

Fill in the blank: Chemosynthesis occurs in the _______ of light.

Answer 26

absence.

Question 27

What are the roles of producers in the food chain?

Answer 27

They are autotrophs that make the energy used in the food chain.

Question 28

What happens to energy as it moves up the food chain?

Answer 28

It decreases.

Question 29

What is bioaccumulation?

Answer 29

The accumulation of toxic substances in organisms as energy is transferred through the food chain.

Question 30

What ethical concerns are associated with the pyramid of biomass?

Answer 30

The process of dehydrating animals to measure their mass.

Question 31

What is the significance of the pyramid of energy never being less in lower trophic levels?

Answer 31

It always remains upright.