UNIT 1 Chapter 4-ECOLOGY

Question 0

What is meant by the biosphere ?

Answer 0

It is the part of the planet containing living things.

Question 1

What is ecology ?

Answer 1

it is the study of interaction between organisms and between organisms and there environment ?

Question 2

what is an ecosystem ?

Answer 2

it is a group of clearly distinguished organisms that interact with their environment as a unit

Question 3

what is a habitat ?

Answer 3

it is a place where a plant or animal lives

Question 4

what is a population ?

Answer 4

it is the number of all the same species living in an area

Question 5

what is community ?

Answer 5

it is all the different populations in an area

Question 6

what are abiotic factors ?

Answer 6

they’re non-living factors

Question 7

what are biotic factors ?

Answer 7

they’re living factors

Question 8

what climatic factors ?

Answer 8

they refer to weather over a long period of time

Question 9

what are edaphic factors ?

Answer 9

they relate to soil -( soil pH, soil type and moisture, air and mineral content of soil)

Question 10

what are producers ?

Answer 10

they are organisms that carry out photosynthesis

Question 11

what are consumers ?

Answer 11

they’re organisms that take in food from another organism

Question 12

what is a food grazing chain ??????????

Answer 12

it is a sequence of organisms in which each one is eaten by the next organism in the chain

Question 13

what is a trophic level ????????????????

Answer 13

it is a feeding stage in a food chain

Question 14

what is a food web ????????

Answer 14

it consists of two or more interlinked food chains

Question 15

what is a pyramid of numbers ?

Answer 15

it represents the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain

Question 16

what is an ecological niche ?

Answer 16

the ecological niche of an organism is the functional role it plays in the community

Question 17

what is a nutrient cycle ?

Answer 17

it is the way in which elements are exchanged between the living and non-living components of an ecosystem

Question 18

what is the carbon cycle ?

Answer 18

it is the process whereby carbon from the enviroment is converted to carbon in living things

Question 19

example of carbon cycle ?

Answer 19

plants change carbon dioxide to oxygen for human

Question 20

what is the role of organisms in the carbon cycle ?

Answer 20

1-plants remove carbon from the environment in photosynthesis and return it in respiration
2-animals obtain their carbon by eating plants and they release carbon in respiraton
3-micro organisms (such as fungi and bacteria) return carbon to the environment when they decompose dead plants and animals

Question 21

what is the nitrogen cycle ?

Answer 21

it the process whereby nitrogen is taken in from the air and made available for use by living things

Question 22

what is the role of organisms in the nitrogen cycle ?

Answer 22

• Bacteria play a central role in the nitrogen cycle- there are four types of bacteria and their functions are-1: nitrogen-fixing bacteria which converts atmospheric nitrogen to nitrates - 2: bacteria of decay which converts decaying nitrogen waste to ammonia - 3: nitrifying bacteria which converts ammonia to nitrates - 4: denitrifying bacteria which converts nitrates to nitrogen gas.
• Fungi helps convert dead plants and animals and their wastes into ammonia in the soil.
• Plants absorbed nitrates from the soil and use the nitrogen to form proteins.
• Animals consume plants and use their nitrogen to form animal protein.

Question 23

what is nitrogen fixation ?????????????

Answer 23

it is the conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia(NH3), ammonium(NH4+) or nitrate(NO3-)

Question 24

what is nitrification ??????????

Answer 24

it is the conversion of ammonia and ammonium(NH4+) compounds to nitrite and then nitrate

Question 25

wha is denitrification ?????????

Answer 25

it is the conversion of nitrates to nitrogen gas

Question 26

what is pollution ????

Answer 26

it is any harmful addition to the environment

Question 27

what are pollutants ?

Answer 27

they’re substances that cause pollution

Question 28

what is conservation ????????????

Answer 28

it is the wise management of our existing natural resources in order to maintain a wide range of habitats and prevent the death and extinction of organisms