Topic Nine Flashcards
Ecosystems
Which term describes organisms, such as plants or algae, that make their own food?
producers
Which term describes organisms that get their food by eating other organisms?
consumer
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
Ecosystem
Animals, plants and everything living within a certain area
Community
Plants and animals that live in an ecosystem - they are all dependant upon one another
Things in a community are _________ upon one another
dependant
True/False: Things in a community can survive without each other
False, they can’t
Animals in a community eat ______ and therefore cannot survive without them
plants
Plants rely on _______ to distribute their seeds
animals
Give 2 things that a species needs to survive and reproduce
Any 2 from food, water, air and sometimes a mate
Abiotic factors are living/non-living factors
non-living
Biotic factors are living/non-living factors
living
True/False: Abiotic and biotic factors will affect any organism
True
Light intensity is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Temperature is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Water levels is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
pH is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Ion levels is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Wind is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Carbon dioxide levels is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Oxygen levels is an abiotic/biotic factor
Abiotic
Food is an abiotic/biotic factor
Biotic
Predators is an abiotic/biotic factor
Biotic
Pathogens is an abiotic/biotic factor
Biotic
What impact does the increase or reduction of abiotic or biotic factors have on a community?
It can have a massive impact - for example the introduction of a new predator or pathogen can wipe out a community
What impact can the introduction of a new predator or pathogen have on a community?
It can wipe out a community
In a community, an increase or decrease in temperature could mean that…
An organism’s food source is gone or an organism can’t survive in that environment
True/False: Plants can’t survive without sufficient levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen, but animals can
False, plants and animals can’t survive without sufficient levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen
If you want to investigate what grows in a field, you can use a _______
quadrat
What is a quadrat?
A portable square-shaped frame, used to mark out a small area of something and count the population of something within that area
Why should you randomly move a quadrat around a field?
So you get a wide coverage
When measuring the amount of something that grows in a field, you need to estimate the size of the field so…
You can work out how much area there is
Why do you need to calculate the area of a field when trying to find plant population?
So you can multiply the plant population per area that you have measured and multiply it up so you cover the entire field
When calculating the plant population of a field, you need to multiply what up to cover the whole field?
Plant population per area that you have measured
A transect is more/less ordered than a quadrat
More
Transect
Start at a point, take a line and take measurements at every point along that line
Why would someone use a transect from a hedge to a point more central in a field?
So factors such as light intensity and distance from water vary and it gives a more accurate representation of the population of the whole field
All food chains start in the same/different place(s)
the same
All food chains start in the same place, with the sun providing ______
energy
In a food chain, from energy from the sun, things are going to ____
grow
In a food chain, energy from the sun causes things (mainly ______) to grow.
plants
True/False: In a food chain, plants get eaten by other things
True
Grass is eaten by cows, which are then eaten by…
us
True/False: Humans can eat plants directly
True
What type of consumer are we?
Top
Cows are ____ivores
herb
Cows are herbivores because they…
just eat plants
Why is the direction of arrow really important in food chains?
Arrows point to the thing its being eaten by (ie an arrow between grass and a cow would point from the grass to the cow)
The direction of an arrow in a food chain means…
eaten by
Biodiversity
The range of plants and animals that live within a habitat
Humans have a minor/major impact on biodiversity
major
How will chopping down loads of natural fields to plant the same type of crop over and over again on effect biodiversity?
It will reduce biodiversity in that environment because it will replace it with the same type of crop instead of different ones - it will become less diverse
Chopping down fields and forests to replace them with cities increases/decreases biodiversity
decreases
What do microorganisms do?
Break down old things
True/False: Microorganisms can break down old food
True
Why do microorganisms break down old food?
So that the components can be recycled back through the system
What does decay and decomposition mean?
Breakdown of organic matter
Decay and decomposition generally happens as a result of ______________
microorganisms
True/False: Microorganisms are alive
True
Microorganisms do not work at very low/high temperatures
low
Microorganisms have a very narrow/wide set of temperatures at which they work in
narrow
Microorganisms rely on _______ to break things down
enzymes
Enzymes slowly increase how they work as the temperature increases, but then at a certain point they will ________
denature
As the level of water increases, the level of decay increases/decreases to a point
increases
Why does the level of water only increase the level of decay to a point?
After a point the bacteria won’t be able to cope
Why will bacteria not be able to cope if the water content is too high?
They need to be able to respire and have oxygen - which isn’t possible with too much water
There is a very narrow/wide amount of oxygen which microorganisms will be able to use
narrow
Without oxygen microorganisms…
won’t be able to do anything
Why can’t microorganisms have too much oxygen?
It will start to become toxic
In a garden, gardeners can ______ things to break down garden waste
compost
Why do gardeners compost things?
To get rid of their unwanted things and take the nutrients and put them back onto the garden
Compost gets rather hot/cold
Hot
True/False: Compost does not smell
False, it gets rather smelly and gas is going to be released
True/False: Gas is released from compost
True
True/False: The gas released from compost is useless
False, it can be harvested and used
What are organic compouds?
Any compounds that have carbon in
What are compounds?
Two or more elements that are chemically bonded together
True/False: Carbon dioxide is in the air
True
True/False: Carbon dioxide can be dissolved in oceans
True
True/False: Organic compounds are not in plants
False, they are
True/False: Organic compounds are not in animals
False, they are
True/False: Organic compounds can be present in dead plants and animals
True
True/False: Organic compounds are not in fossil fuels
False, they are
When we have fossil fuels we can ____ them so that the carbon in them goes into the air
burn
Fossil fuels burn and carbon goes into the air. This is called __________
combustion
When carbon dioxide is in the air it can by taken up by plants. This is the process of…
photosynthesis
True/False: When carbon dioxide is in the air it can be taken up by plants
True
What is the opposite process to photosynthesis?
Respiration
Plants get eaten by _______
animals
What happens to both plants and animals at the end of their lives?
They both die
Organic compounds in dead plants and animals can turn into what type of fuels?
Fossil fuels
How do dead plants and animals turn in to fossil fuels?
By being buried or sedimented
True/False: All dead animals and plants turn in to fossil fuels
False
True/False: When animals and plants die, they can go straight back up in to the air
True
When plants and animals die, what process allows them to go straight back up in to the air?
Decay
True/False: Animals undergo respiration
True
True/False: Carbon is a static thing
False, it is not
How is carbon constantly moving around?
From carbon dioxide in the air to carbon compounds that are in animals, plants, dead animals which then become fossil fuels which can be burnt and carbon dioxide is put back in the air
How many years does the carbon cycle happen over?
Millions
In the water cycle, heat energy from the sun comes down and does what to the surface of water on earth?
Warms it and makes it evaporate
As water evaporates it becomes more/less dense
less
As water evaporates it rises/falls
rises
What happens to water that has evaporated when it starts to cool down?
It will condense
When do clouds form?
When evaporated water condenses
When clouds are heavy - when water has accumulated so much - what will happen?
Precipitation
After it has rained, water will go into mountains where it will sink in or _________ deep into the mountains
percolate
What does water pick up deep in mountains?
Things like ions, salts
How do ions and salts affect water?
They effect the taste and the chemistry of it
Some water that has been in a mountain will then come out as a stream and go into…
a river
Some water that has been in a mountain will go into…
soil
Where does water in soil move to?
Slowly back to a river or lake
How does water in soil move slowly back to a river or lake?
As throughflow
After it has rained, some water will go straight on to the ground. What happens if it lands on a rock or mud that is already saturated?
It will run off into the nearest river/stream/lake/reservoir
Where does all water end up at some point?
In a large collection of water such as the sea, a reservoir or in a lake
When it rains, some water is taken up by p_____
plants
For what process do plants need water?
Photosynthesis
In what process will water come out of plants?
Transpiration
When water comes out of plants in transpiration and makes clouds, what cycle happens all over again?
The water cycle
The air is about __% nitrogen
78
Nitrogen is highly reactive/unreactive
unreactive
In the nitrogen cycle, nitrogen is converted into…
nitrates
Give 2 ways that nitrogen can be converted into nitrates
Any 2 from lightning, the Haber process and nitrofying bacteria
What is the Haber process used to make?
Fertilisers
Fertilisers that are made by the Haber process are put on the ground by…
Nitrofying bacteria
Where are nitrofying bacteria found?
In the root nodules of legumes
Legumes are eaten by…
animals
Animals that eat legumes can then release…
nitrogen compounds
Give 2 ways animals can release nitrogen compounds
Any 2 from urine, feces and death
What do denitrifying bacteria do?
Take nitrate compounds that are in the soil and turn it back into nitrogen gas and release it into the air
