Unit 4 Flashcards
Ecology and The Environment
What is bioaccumulation?
The build up of pesticides in the fatty tissues of an organism.
What is population?
The number of a particular species.
How can pests harm crops’ yield?
-Lowering the amount by reducing growth
-affecting the appearance or quality
What is an ecosystem?
Community of living organisms together with their non-living environment.
What converts nitrate into nitrogen?
Denitrifying bacteria.
What does biodiversity mean?
The amount of variation shown by a species in an ecosystem.
How are fossil fuels formed?
When a large amount of carbon is trapped underground over millions of years in the form of waste and dead material.
What are the effects of deforestation?
-Reduced biodiversity
-Reduced soil quality
-climate change
What is the definition of air pollution?
The contamination of the environment by harmful substances that are produced by the activities of humans.
What are the effects of global warming on the planet?
-Ice caps would melt and sea levels would rise
-Change in ocean currents
-Changes in rainfall patterns
How does carbon enter the carbon cycle?
Through photosynthesis in plants.
What are pests?
Organisms that reduce the yield of crops or stock animals.
What is a community?
The population of of all the species living in an ecosystem.
Nitrate is used to make ______.
Proteins
Waste and dead remains are turned into ______ by ______ ______.
ammonia, decomposing bacteria.
What converts nitrogen into nitrate?
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
List some problems with pesticides.
-Slow to decompose
-kill species that are harmless
-Pests may develop resistance
-Build up along food chains
Give one example of an organic fertiliser and explain its benefit.
Animal manure, which returns some nitrogen to the soil.
Explain why energy is lost through each trophic level.
-Energy is lost through respiration
-Some parts are not eaten
-Energy is excreted as waste
-Energy is lost as heat
Explain how the greenhouse effect works.
Short wavelength IR radiation from the sun enters the atmosphere which bounces off the Earth’s surface. Some of these become long wavelength IR radiation which cannot escape the atmosphere and are re-emitted back into the Earth.
List some methods of biological control.
-Introducing a natural predator
-Introducing a herbivore
-Introducing a parasite
-Introduce a pathogenic microorganism
Explain why biodiversity is a good thing for an ecosystem.
Ecosystem is more stable as it’s not dominated by one organism which relies on it.
Give one example of an inorganic fertiliser and explain its benefit.
Potassium nitrate, which can replace lost ions.
