Unit 1 - Ecology Study Guide Flashcards
What is the difference between a quantitative and qualitative observation?
Quantity is measurable, quality is something observed but not measured. ex. color
Describe the important parts of a graph.
- Title
- Axis labels
- Scale
How are a hypothesis, a scientific theory, and a scientific law different?
Hypothesis = Possible answer
Theory = Proven hypothesis one time
Law = Proven theory several times
Control Group
untested group
List and explain the characteristics of life.
- Growth - Increase in size or shape
- Reproduction - Ability to make another organism (asexual/sexual)
- Energy - Uses energy for processes (autotroph/heterotroph)
- Adaptation - Changes over time to better survive
- Response to Stimuli - Changes because of the environment
- Cells - Made of cells (Unicellular/Multicellular)
- Organization - Organized from cells→tissues→organs→organ systems→organism
- Development - Becomes more advanced
Outline Aristotle’s classification system and what were the disadvantages?
Animals Plants
| |
Land Herbs
Water Shrubs
Air Trees
Disadvantages:
- Grouped different organisms together
- Left out microorganisms
-Grouped Fungi into plants
Define binomial nomenclature and discuss its purpose.
two-word naming system for all organisms; gives the scientific name consisting of genus and species; ex. Homo sapiens = humans
Who created the current classification system? What are the categories of classification used today?
Linnaeus grouped organisms based on physical traits:
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Why do we use dichotomous keys? What is the ONE rule surrounding the use of a dichotomous key?
Dichotomous keys identify different organisms based on observable traits. Rule #1 ALWAYS START AT THE TOP
What does the arrow indicate in a food chain?
Shows the passing of energy
Why is an energy pyramid wider at the bottom and more narrow at the top?
Only 10% of energy stays as you go up each trophic level
What happens to energy as it moves through a food chain?
10% of the energy is passed on, while around 90% of the energy is lost to heat and life processes like respiration
What does a food web demonstrate?
The passing of energy in an ecosystem
Differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Give two examples of each.
Biotic: Living things in an ecosystem
ex. living organisms, dead organisms
Abiotic: Non-living things in an ecosystem
ex. sun, water
Taxes/taxis
Movement in response to a stimulis
Suckling
Obtaining nutrients from the mammary glands
migration
Animals move from one habitat to another
Estivation
Plant or animal becomes dormant (slowing down processes) during the summer for survival in hot and dry periods
Hibernation
Plant or animal becomes dormant (slowing down processes) during the winter
Habituation
Less sensitive to a stimulus after repeated exposure ex. strong odors
Imprinting
Animals attachments during youth like parents
Classical conditioning
learned involuntary responses from associating stimuli ex. dog knows they’ll get food when the bell rings
Trial and Error
Animal performs a behavior over and over again until success is achieved
Explain the carbon cycle.
- Photosynthesis: Plants pull carbon out of the air to make glucose
- Respiration: Plants and animals add carbon to the air
- Decomposition: decomposed organisms trap carbon in the soil
- Combustion: Burning fossil fuels that release carbon
- Earth Processes: Volcanic activity, erosion, and fires can add carbon into the atmosphere
Explain the nitrogen cycle.
- Fixation: Nitrogen in the atmosphere is turned into ammonium by nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria in the soil, or nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legume root nodules
- Nitrification: Ammonium is changed into nitrates by bacteria in the soil to be used by plants
- Assimilation: Nitrates are absorbed from the soil into plants roots for amino acids, nucleic acids, and chlorophyll. Consumed up the food chain.
- Ammonification: When dead plants and animals die, nitrogen is decomposed and put back into soil.
- Denitrification: Bacteria put nitrogen from soil into the atmosphere
Define the greenhouse gas effect. What are human and natural influences?
Heat is trapped close to Earth’s surface by greenhouse gases, warming the surface.
ex. natural causes are evaporation or respiration. Human causes are man-made combustion.
Why are the invasive species so harmful to the ecosystem they invade?
Invasive species typically don’t have predators so they out-compete native species for resources and populations explode.
What does the shape of a population profile tell us about a country?
Shows the growth of a population over time. More triangular, more growth. More rectangular, less growth.
Human behaviors and actions negatively impact our soil, air, and water. List three behaviors/actions that influence the soil, three for air, and three for water.
Soil:
1) Deforestation
2) Pesticides
3) Mining
Air:
1) Factories
2) Transportation
3) Livestock
Water:
1) Pesticides
2) Dams
3) Oil leaks
Four actions that you can do to become a better environmental steward.
- Environmental projects
- Reduce waste
- Recycle
- Use less resources
Constant
Stays the same
Independent variable
Controlled by the scientist
Dependent variable
Result of independent variable
Range of Tolerance
Range of an amount of an abiotic factor that an organisms can live within
Biomagnification vs. Bioaccumulation
Biomagnification - Chemicals accumulate in the environment
Bioaccumulation - Chemicals accumulate in an organism’s tissues
S-Curve vs. J-Curve
S-Curve is a balanced population because of carrying capacity, J-curve is an exploded unbalanced population that eventually crashes because it went way over carrying capacity
What do organisms need nitrogen for?
Proteins and nucleic acid
How do humans add nitrogen to the environment?
Decompose waste and body
How is ozone made?
Sunlight breaks down and reforms oxygen compounds to O3
Pheromone
Substance produced to show others to engage in some kind of behavior
Innate Behavior
Instinctive behavior
What is a secondary Producer?
Herbivore; animal that feeds on plants
Habitat fragmentation vs. Habitat degradation
Habitat fragmentation - Parts of a habitat are destroyed
Habitat degradation - Habitat is destroyed to the point it can’t support organisms
