Unit 1

Question 1

10% Rule

Answer 1

Most of the energy that is passed up the food chain is lost as heat according to the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Only about 10% of useful energy is passed up to the next trophic level.

Question 2

2nd Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 2

Energy cannot be changed from one form to another without a loss of usable energy

Question 3

Abiotic

Answer 3

nonliving

Question 4

Ammonia

Answer 4

a small, very toxic molecule (NH3) produced by nitrogen fixation or as a metabolic waste product of protein and nucleic acid metabolism

Question 5

Biogeochemical cycle

Answer 5

process in which elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another

Question 6

Biome

Answer 6

a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Question 7

Biotic

Answer 7

living things

Question 8

Carbon sink

Answer 8

absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the ocean, soil and forests are the largest of these.

Question 9

Cellular Respiration

Answer 9

process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen

Question 10

Commensalism

Answer 10

a relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

Question 11

Community

Answer 11

all the different populations that live together in an area

Question 12

Competition

Answer 12

the struggle between organisms to survive in a habitat with limited resources

Question 13

Decomposition

Answer 13

The breaking down of organisms into nutrients and simple chemical products
The breaking down of organisms into nutrients and simple chemical products

Question 14

Ecology

Answer 14

scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Question 15

Ecosystem

Answer 15

a community of organisms and their abiotic environment

Question 16

First Law of Thermodynamics

Answer 16

Energy can not be created or destroyed, only transformed.

Question 17

Food chain

Answer 17

a series of steps in an ecosystem that shows the flow of energy from the sun to organisms that produce food energy to consumers

Question 18

Food web

Answer 18

a network of complex interactions formed by the feeding relationships among the various organisms in an ecosystem

Question 19

Gross Primary Productivity

Answer 19

the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

Question 20

Groundwater

Answer 20

water that is beneath the Earth’s surface and flows through bodies of rock known as aquifers

Question 21

Hydrologic cycle

Answer 21

The cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves; includes such processes as evaporation, precipitation and surface and groundwater runoff

Question 22

Mutualism

Answer 22

a relationship between two species in which both species benefit

Question 23

Negative feedback loop

Answer 23

causes a system to change in the opposite direction from which it is moving

Question 24

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

Answer 24

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Question 25

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 25

process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds that plants can absorb and use

Question 26

Nutrient

Answer 26

chemical substance that an organism needs to sustain life

Question 27

Parasitism

Answer 27

A relationship in which one organism lives on or in a host and harms it.

Question 28

Photosynthesis

Answer 28

process by which plants and some other organisms use light energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and high-energy carbohydrates such as sugars and starches

Question 29

Population

Answer 29

group of individual species living in a particular area

Question 30

Positive feedback loop

Answer 30

causes a system to change further in the same direction

Question 31

Primary Productivity

Answer 31

rate at which producers capture and store chemical energy as biomass in a given amount of time

Question 32

Producer

Answer 32

creates complex and simple compounds through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Question 33

Reservoir

Answer 33

a storage location or source of specific chemical (Carbon, Phosphorus, Nitrogen or Water)

Question 34

Resource partitioning

Answer 34

the division of environmental resources by coexisting species such that the niche of each species differs by one or more significant factors from the niches of all coexisting species

Question 35

Salinity

Answer 35

a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid

Question 36

Symbiosis

Answer 36

a relationship in which two different organisms live in close association with each other

Question 37

System

Answer 37

A group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent elements or parts that function together as a whole to accomplish a goal.

Question 38

Trophic Level

Answer 38

a position occupied in the food chain

Question 39

Turbidity

Answer 39

the cloudiness of water