Unit 1 Flashcards
Photosynthesis formula
carbon + water + light energy = glucose + oxygen
Chemosynthesis
- organisms that live in harsh environments that cannot perform photosynthesis
- in deep sea vents, specialized bacteria split hydrogen sulfide molecules -> chemical that provides energy
- live in cold ocean, hot springs, deep caves, salty lakes
Autotrophs
Self feeders/producers: uses suns energy to feed themselves
Heterotrophs
Other feeders: consume other organisms for energy
Consumers
Must feed on producers, they cannot capture sun’s energy directly
- deer, moose, rabbit
Secondary consumers
carnivores, eat mainly herbivores
- fox, lynx, fish
tertiary consumers
feed on other carnivores
- wolf, polar bear, whale
decomposers
Consume the dead matter of once living matter, breaks it down, and puts the nutrients back into the earth
- worms, beetles, bacteria
1st Law of thermodynamics
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, can only be converted from one form to another
2nd Law of thermodynamics
Energy is always lost to the surroundings as heat with every conversion
Rule of 10
10% of energy that is present in one level is passed on to the next
- Limits number of trophic levels
Trophic levels
- 1st
-2nd, primary consumers
-3rd, secondary consumers
-4th, tertiary consumers
Food chain
linear pathway, who eats who
food webs
show how organisms interact, connections between different food chains
pyramid of numbers
represents number of organisms that occupy each trophic level
pyramid of biomass
dry mass of organisms per unit of area
pyramid of energy
amount of energy that is transferred through each trophic level
disadvantages of pyramids
- can be inverted -> large number of primary consumers feeding on single producer
calorimetry
sample of material is burned to determine how much energy it contains
- very time consuming and complex
Hydrological cycle
- evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration
- water vapor is greenhouse gas (h20, co2,o3) that traps heat in atmosphere
- water is universal solvent -> polar and has hydrogen bonding
- has a high bp (100) and mp (0)
- high specific heat capacity -> takes more energy to heat up water, holds temp. longer
adhesion
water molecules attracted to other surfaces
cohesion
water molecules attracted to other water molecules
- responsible for surface tension
sources of carbon dioxide
- forest fires/burning of fossil fuels
- breakdown of matter by decomposers
- cellular respiration
carbon sinks
reservoirs that absorb more carbon dioxide than they emit
- forests
- oceans -> biggest carbon sink
Rapid cycling
fast
- carbon cycle ex. forest fire
slow cycling
slow
- fossil fuel deposits
-weathering
greenhouse effect
- trap heat in atmosphere
- allows life on earth to exist, would be too cold without it
- humans are beginning to burn more fossil fuels, greenhouse emissions have increased earths temp.
problems with more co2
- sea level rising
- melting snow caps
- unpredictable weather
- habitat destruction
- health problems
Sulfur cycle
- organisms require sulfur for proteins and vitamins
- air: decomposition, human activities, volcanic off-gassing release sulfur into atmosphere -> snow/rain return sulfur to earth’s surface
- water: water soluble form of sulfur = sulfate
- soil: decomposers return sulfur to soil as hydrogen sulfide
natural sources of sulfur
- weathering
- volcanic activity
- fossil fuel reserves
man-made sources of sulfur
- combustion of fossil fuels (driving car, heating homes, etc.)
- processing of nitrogen fertilizers
acid deposition
- sulfate combines with water vapor to form h2so4 (bad) and returns to earth in forms of precipitation
- acidifies lakes, rivers, and makes soil to acidic to grow some plants
ways to reduce acid deposition
- scrubber
- catalytic converter
- electric engine
nitrogen fixation
bacteria and lightning convert n2 to nh4 (ammonium)
ammonification
bacteria convert ammonium (nh4) into nitrite (no2-) and (no3-)
denitrification
bacteria convert nitrite (no2- or no3-) back to nitrogen gas (n2)
nitrogen fixing bacteria
- found in lumps in bumps called nodules
- bacteria provides plant with usable nitrogen, plant provides bacteria with sugar to make nitrates
- the plants, legumes, have more nitrates so some leach into soil for other plants to use
phosphorous cycle
- only cycle with no gas phase, found in soil and water (doesn’t cycle through atmosphere)
- key component in teeth, dna, bones
- rapid: decomposers
- long term: bedrock of water as phosphate
- phosphates enter food chain through photosynthetic organisms
algal bloom
overgrowth of algae in aquatic environments, excess of phosphates
- organic matter use up more oxygen -> death of fish and aquatic life
species
organisms that can breed with one another to produce fertile offspring
population
group of same species living in a specific area at the same time
ex. gophers on canal
community
individuals of interacting populations in an area (many species)
ex. spiders at kinsmen
ecosystem
community of populations together with biotic and abiotic factors
aristotle
- made two kingdoms: plantae, animalia
haeckel
made another kingdom: protista
taxonomy
classifying living things
linnaeus
- father of taxonomy
- subdivided the kingdoms
the subdivisions of the kingdoms
life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
the 3 domains
- bacteria: true bacteria, prokaryotes
- archaea: live in harsh environments (extremeophiles)
- eukarya: complex cells, has nucleus and membrane bound structures
ex. humans
archaea and bacteria
single celled organisms without nucleus, wide range of habitats
protista
unicellular and multicellular, some photosynthesize, some heterotrophs, some decomposers, include algae and protozoans, various niches
fungi
secrete digestive enzymes onto food source and absorb released molecules
ex. mushrooms, molds, yeasts
plantae
photosynthesis, sessile, multicellular
ex. trees, plants, ferns
animalia
complex specialized cells
ex. humans, bears, kangaroos
binomial nomenclature
- Linnaeus
- two name system -> genus and species
- in Latin, universal scientific name
why is there an uneven distribution of life on earth
- earth has unequal heating
- leads to different air and water patterns
- soil, topography, altitude, latitude, and temp determine types of organisms in an area
summer solstice
longest day of the year with the most sun
winter solstice
shortest day with the least sun
fall equinox
equal amount of sun
mixed forests
have more species of diversity
pure stand forests
same species of trees
abiotic limiting factors
plants: soil type, moisture, humidity, temperature
- general: water, sunlight, soil, shelter, breeding sites
biotic factors
- resource competition: food, intraspecific competition (between 1 species), interspecific (between 2+ species), births drop, deaths increase
- predation: predator eats prey
- parasitism: parasite takes nourishment from host and host is harmed but not killed
adaptations
structure, behavior, physiological process that helps organisms survive and reproduce in certain environment
ex. camouflage, talons, hibernation
structural adaptations
wings to fly, webbed feet, hollow bones
behavioral adaptations
migration, hibernation, nocturnal
physiological adaptions
pheromones: biological perfume used to attract a mate
variation
differences that help an individual survive to reproduce
mutations
- changes to genetic information
- may result in new characteristics
- occurs in somatic cell: dies with indivdual
- occurs in sex cell: may be passed on to further generations
- can lead to many combos at fertilization
sexual reproduction
- lead to increased variation
- mutations can occur
plato and aristotle
life exists in a perfect and unchanging form
buffon
- similarities between humans and apes
- founder of biogeography
- believe earth was over 6000 years old
cuvier
- paleontology: layers contained different fossils
- earth suffered catastrophic events leading to extinction
lyell
- geological changes are slow and continuous, occur over long periods of time
lamark
3 ideas: spontaneous generation, organisms strive for perfection, inheritance of acquired characteristics
malthus
- populations had too many babies
- populations are reduced by starvation and disease
darwin and wallace
- traits that helped organisms survive would be passed to offspring
- competition would select individuals with favorable traits
evolution
change in a population over a long time
Darwins 2 main ideas
- life forms have arisen from decent and modification from ancestral species
- mechanism for change is natural selection
overpopulation
organisms have too many babies
struggle for existence
competition ex. food, shelter, mates
variation
differences
survival of the fittest
best adapted organisms survives and reproduces
speciation
over time if an organism occupies a new niche it can be considered a new species
fossil record
sedimentary rock containing the remains of organisms
transitional fossils
links between layers
biogeography
study of past and present geological distribution of organisms
- animals found on islands often resemble animals on closest continent
homologous structures
similar structure, different function
ex. legs, arms
analogous structures
different structure, similar function
ex. wings
embryology
the development of unborn babies, similar stages of embryonic development
molecular biology
- enzymes control biochemical reactions
- proteins are synthesized from amino acids
- all cells have membranes
- replicating cells contain dna
speciation
- accumulated change in a population over a long time due to mutations and changing environment
- divergence: one species diverges from another
geographic barriers
- mountains, rivers, lakes, highways prevents species from interbreeding
- isolation must be maintained so that new species are reproductively incompatible
biological barriers
- behavioral signals: spiders pheromones, fireflies blinking patterns
- temporal: species breed at different times of day or year
- different habitat: ex. breeding in land and water
models of change
- adaptive radiation: diversification of ancestral species into variety of species which are differently adapted
- phylogenic tree: shows ancestral origins of organisms
gradualism
gradual change occurs slowly in linear fashion, fossil record does not support this
punctuated equilibrium
periods of equilibrium punctuated with periods of speciation
