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N5 Biology > Unit 3 - Life on Earth > Flashcards

Unit 3 - Life on Earth Flashcards

1
Q

What is an Ecosystem?

A

A biological community of living organisms interacting with each other and their shared environment

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2
Q

What is a community?

A

Populations of different species living together in one area.

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3
Q

What is a population?

A

The number of individuals from a species living in one area

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4
Q

What is biodiversity?

A

The variety of living organisms in one area

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5
Q

What is a habitat?

A

The place where an organism ives.

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6
Q

What are the two types of Ecosystems?

A

Aquatic and Terrestrial

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7
Q

What is a Aquatic ecosystem?

A

An ecosystem in a body of water

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8
Q

What is a Terrestrial Ecosystem?

A

An ecosystem that occurs on land

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9
Q

What is a producer?

A

An organism that makes their own food through the process of photosynthesis.

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10
Q

What is a consumer?

A

An organism that eats other organisms to obtain a food source.

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11
Q

What is a herbivore?

A

An animal that eats ONLY plants

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12
Q

What is a carnivore?

A

An animal that eats ONLY meat

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13
Q

What is an omnivore?

A

An animal that eats BOTH plants and meat

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14
Q

What is a predator?

A

Organisms which hunt and kill other animals for food.

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15
Q

What is prey?

A

Organisms which are hunted and killed by predators

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16
Q

What is a food chain?

A

A linear chart which represents the flow of energy between organisms.

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17
Q

What is a food web?

A

A food web is a diagram which represents the energy flow through a series of interconnected food chains.

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18
Q

What is a niche?

A

The role each organism plays within a community

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19
Q

When does competition occur?

A

When resources are in short supply

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20
Q

What are the 2 main times of competition?

A

Inter-specific and Intra-specific

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21
Q

What is Inter-specific competition?

A

Competition between members of different species

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22
Q

What is Inta-specific competition?

A

High intensity competition between members of the same species.

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23
Q

What do plants compete for?

A

Light Space

Water Minerals

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24
Q

What do animals compete for?

A

Water Food

Mates Territory

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25
What are biotic factors?
Living components of an ecosystem
26
What are abiotic factors?
Non-living factors of an ecosystem
27
What do biotic and abiotic factors do?
They effect the distribution and biodiversity of organisms within an ecosystem.
28
What are examples of biotic factors?
Competition for resources Food availability Predatation Disease Grazing
29
What are examples of abiotic factors?
Temperature Light Intensity | Soil moisture pH
30
What decreases the level of biodiversity?
Competition Disease Predation
31
What increases the level of biodiversity?
Food availability Light intensity Grazing
32
What happens when predator population increases?
Prey population decreases due to increased predatation on prey
33
What happens when prey population decreases?
Predator population also decreases due to less food being available for predators
34
What equipment is used to measure temperature?
Thermometer
35
What equipment is used to measure light intensity?
Light meter
36
What equipment is used to measure soil moisture?
Moisture meter
37
What equipment is used to measure soil pH?
pH meter
38
What source of error can occur when using a light meter?
Shading the light meter
39
What source of error can occur when using a moisture/pH meter?
Probes not being cleaned in between readings
40
What source of error can occur when using a thermometer?
Inadequate time to read temperature.
41
Why do scientists need to sample an ecosystem?
So they have an idea of the number of species that exist across the globe and understand how different ecosystems work.
42
What are quadrats used for?
They are used to estimate the abundance of various plant species within a given area
43
What are pitfall traps used for?
They are used to estimate the abundance of small invertebrates within a given area.
44
What are paired statement keys?
A series of yes and no questions used to identify sampled organisms based on their physical appearance.
45
What are indicator species?
Species that, by their presence or absence indicate levels of environmental quality.
46
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is a series of enzyme controlled reactions
47
Where does photosynthesis take place?
Photosynthesis takes place in the chloroplast of plant cells.
48
What are the 2 stages of photosynthesis?
1. Light reactions | 2. Carbon fixatition
49
What is the word equation for photosynthesis?
Light Energy Carbon dioxide + water --------------------------------------> Sugar + Oxygen Absorbed by chlorophyll
50
What is chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll is a green pigment required to adsorb light energy.
51
What is the word equation for Light Reactions (photosynthesis) ?
Carbon dioxide + water ----------------> Sugar and oxygen
52
What is passed on from stage 1 to stage 2 (photosynthesis) ?
Hydrogen and ATP
53
What is water split into during stage 1 (Photosynthesis) ?
Hydrogen and oxygen
54
What happens to excess water during stage 1 (Photosynthesis) ?
Diffuses out of the cell.
55
What is the word equation for stage 2 (photosynthesis) ?
Carbon dioxide + Water ------------------------> Sugar + Oxygen
56
What is carbon fixation (photosynthesis) ?
A series of enzyme controlled reactions that combine Hydrogen with carbon dioxide to produce sugar.
57
What provides the energy required for carbon fixation?
ATP produced in stage 1 (photosynthesis).
58
What are the three different fates of glucose?
Glucose - Instant energy source for respiration Starch - Storage energy molecule Cellulose - Structural carbohydrate in plant cell walls.
59
What does the presence of starch in plant cells indicate?
That photosynthesis has taken place inside the plant cell.
60
What can be monitored to measure the rate of photosynthesis ?
1. Increase in dry mass over a period of time 2. Volume of oxygen production 3. Volume of carbon dioxide uptake.
61
What are three environmental factors that effect photosynthesis?
1. Light intensity 2. CO 2 Uptake 3. Temperature
62
What is the effect of limiting factors?
Limiting factors decrease the rate at which photosynthesis takes place and the overall growth of the plant.
63
Where is energy store in a food web?
At each link in the food web.
64
How much energy is lost at each stage of the food chain?
90% of energy is lost through respiration,movement,heat and faeces.
65
What is a pyramid of numbers?
A pyramid is a diagram which represents the amount of each living organism. With the producer on the bottom, the primary consumer above that etc....
66
What is a pyramid of energy?
A pyramid of energy is used to show the flow of energy through an ecosystem.
67
What can be used to increase food yield?
Pesticides and fertilisers.
68
What are nitrates used for?
Making proteins.
69
What do fertilisers do?
Fertilisers that are added to soil provide chemicals like nitrates to increase crop yield.
70
What does genetically modified mean?
To add a gene from one organism into another organism.
71
Why might GM crops be used?
To reduce the use of fertilisers.
72
What are the benefits of GM crops?
- Increase crop yield - Kill pest species if crop is eaten. - Grow in soil with low nitrates.
73
What are pesticides?
Pesticides are chemicals that are sprayed into crops to kill pest species that feed on crops.
74
What is bio-accumulation?
Bio-accumulation is where pesticides that are sprayed onto crops can build up in the bodies of organisms over time.
75
What is biological control?
Biological control uses natural predators of a pest species as a way to keep their population sizes low.
76
What are the risks of biological control?
- Control species might not survive the new environment. - Control might bring diseases killing crops - Control species may become pest species.
77
What is genetic variation?
Members of the same species are varied because of slightly different versions of the same gene.
78
What are mutations?
Mutations are spontaneous random changes to the genetic material of an organism.
79
What might increase mutation rate?
Radiation - UV rays & Gamma rays | Chemical - Bromine & Nicotine
80
What is an allele?
A form of a gene.
81
What is adaptation?
An inherited characteristic that makes an organism well suited to surviving in it's environment/niche.
82
What is Speciation?
When two or more species are formed from one original | species.

N5 Biology (3 decks)

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