Unit 1 test

Question 1

Atmosphere

Answer 1

The gases (or in our case, air) that surround a planetary body and are held there by gravity.

Question 2

troposhere

Answer 2

greenhouse gases and the air that we breathe

Question 3

stratosphere

Answer 3

17-50 km above the earth, consists of ozone (O3) which acts as a global sunscreen and basically allows life on earth

Question 4

hydrosphere

Answer 4

Consists of all the water on or near the earth’s surface including water vapor, liquid water, ice and permafrost

Question 5

geosphere

Answer 5

includes the exterior and interior of the Earth itself; the core, mantle, and crust

Question 6

Biosphere

Answer 6

All the parts of the atmosphere where life is found; if the earth were an apple it would be no thicker than the apple’s skin

Question 7

The three factors that sustain life on Earth

Answer 7

1) the sun’s constant flow of one-way energy (2nd law of thermodynamics)
2) nutrient cycling all through the biosphere (law of conservation)
3) Gravity (holds the atmosphere in place, also helps nutrient cycling)

Question 8

The amount of the sun’s energy that plants actually use to photosynthesize

Answer 8

0.1%

Question 9

BBR

Answer 9

(the carbon cycle) Burning. Breathing. Rotting.

Question 10

2 carbon reservoirs

Answer 10

old-growth forests/rainforests and ocean sediments

Question 11

photosynthesis

Answer 11

carbon dioxide+water+light= glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen

Question 12

Cellular respiration

Answer 12

when cells use glucose to make energy

Question 13

Decomposition

Answer 13

bacteria break down organisms and release CO2 and H2S (hydrogen sulfide). bacteria IN WATER break down organisms into carbonates which sink to the ocean floor (CO3 2-). With compaction, carbonates can become fossil fuels.

Question 14

Where nitrogen is found

Answer 14

• 78% of the atmosphere
• proteins
• DNA
• soil
• ocean sediments

Question 15

What lightning does in the nitrogen cycle

Answer 15

makes it into ammonia (NH3)

Question 16

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 16

bacteria take N2 from the air and make it into NH3, with water that makes NH4+ (ammonium ions) which plant can use as a nutrient. this is one of the only ways plants can use nitrogen- if it’s fixed.

Question 17

Nitrification

Answer 17

bacteria changing NH3 and NH4+ into nitrates (NO3-) which can also be used as nutrients by plants

Question 18

Ammonification

Answer 18

bacteria break down dead organisms and waste to make NH3 and NH4+

Question 19

Denitrification

Answer 19

bacteria in swamps, lakes, and oceans break down detritus (any waste) which releases nitrogen into the atmosphere and out of the water

Question 20

How do humans affect the nitrogen cycle

Answer 20

burn fuel, fertilize obnoxiously, sewage/agricultural runoff, clear cut forests/develop grasslands

Question 21

ecology

Answer 21

science focusing on the interactions of organisms with other organisms and their abiotic environments

Question 22

What is the order starting with an atom in relations to the environment?

Answer 22

atom-molecule-cells-organisms (species)-population-community-ecosystem-biosphere

Question 23

Autotrophs

Answer 23

producers (diy nutrients)

Question 24

glucose formula

Answer 24

C6H12O6

Question 25

chemosynthesis

Answer 25

photosynthesis without sunlight (heat)

Question 26

primary consumers

Answer 26

(herbivores) eat mostly green plants

Question 27

secondary and tertiary consumers

Answer 27

feed on the flesh of other organisms

Question 28

detritivores

Answer 28

feed on the wastes or dead bodies of other animals; the reason nature does not waste anything

Question 29

aerobic respiration

Answer 29

using O2 to make energy in the mitochondria of the cell

Question 30

biomass

Answer 30

the dry weight of every organic thing in an ecosystem; depends on the solar capacity of the producers

Question 31

the 10% rule

Answer 31

with every energy transfer, only 10% is actually transferred

Question 32

NPP

Answer 32

the rate at which producers photosynthesize (Net Primary Productivity)

Question 33

major reservoirs of phosphorus

Answer 33

rocks and ocean sediments (in rocks it is phosphate) also this cycle relies on erosion therefor it is very slow

Question 34

where phosphorus is normally found

Answer 34

DNA, RNA, ATP, bones, teeth

Question 35

human impact on the phosphorus cycle

Answer 35

extracting phosphates for fertilizer, clear-cutting, mining, sewage

Question 36

why algal blooms are bad

Answer 36

they use all nutrients then die, which removes all oxygen from the water, which causes everything else to die (dead zones)

Question 37

what determines how air circulates in the lower atmosphere

Answer 37

uneven heating by the sun, rotation of the earth on its axis, and properties of air, water, and land

Question 38

things that can impact climate

Answer 38

bodies of water, mountains, cities (humans)

Question 39

the two prevailing themes of adaptation

Answer 39

beat the heat and every drop of water counts (deserts)

Question 40

savannas

Answer 40

tropical grasslands with scattered clumps of trees, year-round warmth, dry/wet seasons. home to many predators as well as grazing and browsing animals.

Question 41

temperate grasslands

Answer 41

very cold winters, hot, dry, summers, fertile soil, humans commonly use as farmland

Question 42

short grass vs. tall grass prairies

Answer 42

short: lots of flowers, biodiversity
tall: more rain, midwest US, western parts of the US and Canada

Question 43

Arctic tundras

Answer 43

cold grasslands with no trees, cold year-round, found south of the polar ice cap, long winters with short days, animals with thick fur

Question 44

two ways deserts form

Answer 44

1) the rain-shadow effect (when moisture moves over a mountain, very little actually is transferred to the other side, resulting in a desert)
2) being near the coast (the cold air above the water meets the warm air above the land and makes the moisture in the ground evaporate, which gets absorbed by the air, resulting in a desert)

Question 45

tropical rainforests

Answer 45

near the equator, hot and humid, almost daily rainfall, teeming with biodiversity, made up of broadleaf evergreens, 1/2 of known life is found here, quick decomp

Question 46

jungle

Answer 46

the densest part of a tropical rainforest

Question 47

temperate deciduous forests

Answer 47

distinct seasons, mild temps, made up of broadleaf deciduous trees, slow decomp, more disturbed by humans than any other biome

Question 48

taigas

Answer 48

cold, subarctic forests, frigid winters, somewhat warm, short summers, evergreen trees, low biodiversity yet many types of animals

Question 49

temperate rainforests

Answer 49

coastal coniferous: ample rainfall, large conifer trees

Question 50

“islands of biodiversity”

Answer 50

MOUNTAINS!!! they also contain a majority of the world’s forests, 17% of the world’s population live in the mountains or foothills, home to many animals that would otherwise not exist, major water storehouses. Their glaciers are melting—> global warming! We need to protect the mountains.

Question 51

the key factors that determine biodiversity in ocean layers

Answer 51

temp, oxygen levels, food, and photosynthesis needs.