Topic 9- Ecosystems and Material Cycles Flashcards
Which term describes organisms, such as plants or algae, that make their own food?
Why can plants and algae make their own food?
producers
Which term describes organisms that get their food by eating other organisms?
cells contain chlorophyll/carry out photosynthesis
Which term describes animals that eat plants or algae?
herbivores/primary consumers
Which term describes animals that kill and eat other animals?
predators/carnivores/secondary consumers
Name a type of diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms.
food chain/food web
Which scientific term means all the organisms and the environment they interact with?
ecosystem
Which scientific term means all individuals of the same species living in a particular area?
population
Which piece of equipment could be used to investigate the number of plants in an area?
quadrat
Which term describes all the animals, plants, other organisms, rain, soil and other factors in a rainforest?
ecosystem
Which term describes all the organisms living in a lake?
community
Groups of the same species living in different areas are different … ?
populations
In a food web, which term describes organisms that feed on plants?
herbivores/primary consumers
What term describes how one species needs other species in the same habitat for its survival?
interdependence
In a study of abundance of small plants in a field, samples would be taken using which piece of equipment?
quadrat
What is the scientific term for the feeding levels in a food chain?
trophic levels
Which type of diagram displays the biomass in all the different levels of a food chain?
pyramid of biomass
Which term measures the dry mass of all living tissue in an organism?
biomass
Name the source of energy that is transferred to plants.
light/Sun
Which term describes any living part of an ecosystem?
biotic
Which trophic level forms the bottom level of a pyramid of biomass?
producers
Which energy transfer is least useful for organisms?
to environment by heating
How do you calculate the efficiency of energy transfer between trophic levels?
energy transferred to biomass divided by total energy supplied to organism
Name two resources that plants need from their environment.
any two from: light, water/rainfall, space, nutrients, warmth/temperature, carbon dioxide, oxygen/air
Which term describes something that has been added to the environment, causing harm to the organisms?
pollution/pollutant
Which method can be used to study the distribution of organisms (how they are spread) in a straight line through an ecosystem?
belt transect
Give two examples of abiotic factors that affect organisms.
any two from: light, water/rainfall, space, nutrients, warmth/temperature, carbon dioxide/oxygen concentration
Is predation an abiotic or biotic factor in ecosystems?
biotic
Which term describes the struggle between organisms for a limited resource?
competition
Give one example of a limited resource that animals might struggle with each other for.
any suitable example, such as: mates, nesting space, food, water
Give one example of a limited resource that plants might struggle with each other for.
any suitable example, such as: light, water, nutrients
Which term means the number of different species living in an area?
biodiversity
Which cycle describes the relationship in population size of a secondary consumer and the animal species that it eats?
predator–prey cycle
You might expect the number of predators to drop in an area if their preferred prey species declines in number. Suggest why this drop may not occur.
the predators start to eat a different prey
The malaria protist causes harm when it infects a human. Which term describes this relationship between the malaria protist and human?
parasitism
How does the malaria protist benefit from being inside a human?
anything suitable, such as: gets nutrients, multiplies in number
Which term describes a close relationship between two species that benefits both species?
mutualism
Name one material, other than water, that cycles through ecosystems.
any one suitable, e.g. carbon, nitrogen
Which process changes water on the Earth’s surface into water vapour in the air?
evaporation
Which process describes how plants absorb water from the soil and release it into the air?
transpiration
Which process causes the formation of clouds of water droplets from water vapour in the air?
condensation
What is potable water?
suitable for drinking
Which process produces potable water from salty water?
desalination/distillation
Name one group of organisms that includes decomposers.
any suitable, e.g. bacteria, fungi, microorganisms
In what form is carbon in the atmosphere?
carbon dioxide
Name one carbon compound found in living organisms.
any suitable carbon-containing compound, e.g. sugars, fats, proteins, DNA
Which process of living organisms removes carbon from the atmosphere?
photosynthesis
Which term describes an organism that breaks down dead plants or animals?
decomposer
Which term describes the breaking down of dead plant or animal tissue?
decay/decomposition
Which process in living organisms adds carbon to the atmosphere?
respiration
Which process causes carbon to be added to the atmosphere from fossil fuels?
combustion
Which biotic process removes carbon from the atmosphere?
photosynthesis
Name two groups of organisms that carry out the biotic process that removes carbon from the atmosphere.
any two groups that are producers, e.g. plants, algae
Why do fertilisers added to fields affect plant growth?
contain nutrients
Name one problem caused to the environment by spreading too much fertiliser on fields.
any suitable, e.g. eutrophication of water, death of fish in rivers
Which name is given to bacteria that convert nitrogen from the air into nitrogen compounds?
nitrogen-fixing bacteria
Name one alternative to using powdered fertiliser that a farmer could use to improve crop growth.
any suitable, e.g. spread manure/animal waste, crop rotation
