Unit 1-Life On Earth Flashcards
What is a community?
All the populations of different species that live together in a habitat
What is a population?
All the members of a single species that live in a habitat.
What is a habitat? Give an example.
The place where an organism lives. An example of a habitat is a tree in a forest.
What is an ecosystem?
A community and the habitat in which it lives.
What is a niche?
A Niche is the role an organism plays within a community.
What is a biome?
A biome is a large area of ecosystem
How can biomes be influenced?
Global distribution of biomes can be influenced by temperature and rainfall.
What is a food chain? Give an example.
A food chain shows what eats what in a habitat. An example of a food chain is:
Grass growing-> mouse eats grass-> owl eats mouse.
What does a pyramid of numbers represent?
A pyramid of numbers represent the number of organisms at each stage in a food chain.
What does a pyramid of biomass represent?
A pyramid of biomass represents the mass of an organism at each stage in a food chain.
What does a pyramid of energy represent?
A pyramid of energy represents the energy of an organism at each stage in a food chain.
How much energy is passed on along a food chain?
10% of energy is passed on along a food chain.
How much energy is lost along a food chain? How?
90% of energy is lost along a food chain. It is lost through heat, movement and undigested materials.
What may animals have to compete for in their habitat?
Animals may have to compete for space, food, water and mates.
What may plants have to compete for in their habitat?
Plants may have to compete for light, space, minerals and water.
Give the definition of interspecific competition.
Interspecific competition is when individuals from a different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem.
Give the definition of intraspecific competition.
Intraspecific competition is when individuals from the same species compete for the same resources in their ecosystem.
What is a mutation?
A mutation is a random change in genetic material
What can cause a mutation to speed up?
An exposure to radiation can speed up a mutation.
What are the only source of new alleles?
A mutation
What is natural selection?
Natural selection occurs when more offspring are produced than the ecosystem can support.
What is a producer?
A producer is an organism that makes its own food. E.g. Grass or any green plant.
What is a primary consumer?
A primary consumer is an organism that eats plant material.
What is a secondary consumer?
A secondary consumer eats animal material such as cats, dogs of lions.
What is a predator?
A predator is an organism that kills other organisms for food. They are usually secondary or tertiary consumers.
What is a prey?
A prey is the organism that a predator hunts.
What is a scavenger?
A scavenger is an organism that feeds on the bodies of dead animals such as crows, vultures and hyenas.
What is a decomposer?
A decomposer feeds on dead and decaying organisms and on the undigested parts of plant and animal matter in faeces.
Give the definition of a disadvantageous mutation and an example.
The changes in a disadvantageous mutation can be so severe that the organism dies or have severe disorders.
