unit A Flashcards
study of biology
different hierarchies and levels of organization
study of ecology
organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems or biosphere as a whole
closed system
only energy can eneter and leave, matter stays consistent
example- earth
dynamic equilibrium
constant change to mantian balance
example - earth and it’s ecosytems
homeostasis
trying to be balanced in biology
biodiversity
the number of species in an ecosystem
-how diverse is the ecosystem (variety)
mass extinction
a cycle the Earth goes through where natural reasons wipe out several species
indicator species
species that indicate how things are going in an ecosystem/enviroment
-very sensitive to change
example- frogs, tiger sharks or whales
extinct
no longer present on Earth
endangered
close to extinction
extripated
gone out of a large area they used to be predomaninet in
threatened
likely to become endangered, if there is no change
special concern
at risk due to low/declining numbers
biotic
alive
carnivores
organisms that only eat meat
-secondary consumers
herbivores
organisms that only eat vegetation
- eat producers
- primary consumer
omnivores
organisms that consume both vegetation and meat
decomposers
organisms that break down dead animals or animal waste
detritus
waste or debris of any kind
habitat
natural home or enviroment
population
amount of a species in a specfic location
community
group of multiple species existing together in the same place
ecosystem
biological community of interacting organisms and their physical enviroment
abiotic
not alive
hypothesis
educated guess
why should we care about how we treat nature
- humans depend on it
- diversity goes down, like a chain reactions on other animals
- God calls us to
interconnected
everything affects everyone
example - elk and mosquito
biodiversity is influenced manly by
water
photosynthesis
high- tons of plants and animals
low- less plants and animals
energy flow
solar energy -> photosynthesis -> energy conversions into food -> into mechanical energy (humans)
-90% of energy is used for the organism, the rest is lost in thermal energy
autotroph
an organism that is able to feed itself
example- plants (through photosynthesis)
heterotrophs
organisms that get their food from other living things
-consumers or decomposers
example-humans
organic molecules
molecules produced or found in living things
example - protein
inorganic molecules
not found or made from living things
photosynthesis formula
6 CO2 + 6 H2O -> C6H12O6 + 6 O2
chemosynthesis
energy created by chemical reaction
primary consumers
first consumer in food chain (herbivore)
secondary consumer
something eating something (carnivore)
-third in a food chain
tertiary consumer
eat the secondary
-third in food chain
omnivores can be
secondary, primary and tertiary depending on what they eat
detrivore
eats dead organic matter
example- earthworm
saprotroph
lives in or on dead matter and absorbs the resulting products
example - mushroom
food web
shows many feeding relationships, by many organisms
-arrow shows direction of energy
what does the arrow tell you in a diagram (food web/chain)
the flow of energy
-generally points to consumer
niche
special place an organisms has in a food web/chain
-identifies trophic level
food chain
linear model, pointing in the direction of energy flow
-not realistic
trophic level
how many levels is it away from the sun
-producers are at the first trophic level
keystone species
support other animals, without it things fall apart
-center of food webs
DDT
a chemical farmers used on crops, which affected large birds eggs to be weaker and less offspring
bio magnification
magnifying of something as it increases in the food chain
-accumulation
example - tuna being high in mercury
cull
purposeful killing of animals
thermal energy
loss of energy in the form of heat
second law of thermodynamics
as energy is transferred some energy is always lost (in the form of thermal heat)
-energy is lost
first law of thermodynamics
energy can be transferred but cannot be created or destroyed
pyramid of numbers
counts how many producers/herbivores/carnivores
- easy to read
- energy flow
- doesn’t show juvenile
- snapshot in time
pyramid of biomass
mass per trophic level
- easy to read
- shows juveniles
- time of year is a huge factor
- not always accurate
pyramid of energy
Energy being available and generated, existing energy -compare ecosystems -mostly accurate -hard to calculate omnivores don't fit in
properties of water
universal solvent
- adhesive and cohesive
- high boiling temp and melting
hydrchloric cycle
movement of water through the biosphere (atmosphere and earth)
precipitation
water reaching Earths surface, some water stays positioned as still water is absorbed into the soil
evaporation
using energy, surface water changes from liquid to a gas form
transpiration
loss of water through plant leaves (dew)
percolation
movement of liquid through porous material (soil)
-trickle
leaching
removal of soluable minerals by percolation
- carries dissolved organic matter
- not a good thing
what cycle is not found in the atmosphere and earth
phosphourous cycle
run off
water from percipitaion
water table
layer of water underground
respiration
human form of recycling water
acid rain
rain becomes very acidic
normal rain (acid rain facts)
pH 5.5, carbonoxide acid
why does rain become acidic
nitric oxide, sulfure dioxide
why is water a great solvent
like dissoles like, water is polar
opposites attract, can rip things apart
biggest sink of inorganic carbon
the ocean
issue of global warning with oceans and carbon
cold water holds more carbon (slower movement)
-cannot hold as much carbon, making more in the atmosphere
organic compound
compounds that contain hydrogen bound to carbon
-living things
organic carbon example
C6H12O6
summary of carbon cycle
inorganic to organic to inorganic
-atmosphere -earth living things -atmosphere
where in the carbon cycle does carbon go from inorganic to organic
when it is consumed by living things, through cellular respiration, and then exhaled as inorganic
-or in photosynthesis
CaCO3
calcium carbonate
- inorganic carbon locks into carbonates
- rocks, teeth, shells
where do most of the carbon go from the carbon cycle
photosynthesis
inorganic - stomata - cholorfil - water - suger (organic)
how does carbon get back into the atmosphere
through cellular respiration
cellular respiration
conversion of organic carbon to inorganic carbon (in the mitrochondria)
what happens when theres not enough oxygen to decompose
fossil fuels are created, that’s what global warming is
hydrocarbon combustion
returns organic carbon to atmosphere
example- burning fossil fuels
biggest sink of inorganic carbon
the ocean
nitrogen summary
atmosphere - earth/living things - atmosphere
free nitrogen to nitrate to free nitrogen
free nitrogen
N2
initial nitrogen in the atmosphere, plants cannot use
what does nitrogen do for plants
it is used ot build proteins in plants
nitrification
(nitrogen fixation)
N2 needs to be fixed, converted into NO3/NO2
denitrification
reverse of nitrogen fixation
NO3 - NO2 - N2
nitrogen cycle - lighting
contains so much energy it can force oxygen into free nitrogen
nitrogen cycle - bacteria
anaerobic or aerobic
gives oxygen needed in nitrogen or takes away to either produce free nitrogen or nitrate
nitrogen cycle - legumes
beans and such to help transfer nitrogen
ammonification
fertilizers (decomposers) - ammonia (NH3) - nitrites (NO2) - nitrates (NO3)
nitrates
form of nitrogen plants can use
NO3
nitrites
imbetween molecules
NO2
nitrogen
begning molecule
N2
free nitrogen
anaerobic bacteria
don’t need oxygen (take away)
NO3 - NO2
aerobic bacteria
need oxygen (give) N2 - NO2 - NO3
how do holes in grass help in the nitrogen cycle?
make it easier to bring oxygen into the grass/nitrogen so that nitrogen fixation can happen much easier
summary of the phosphorous cycle
earth - plants/animals - earth
why do plants need phosphate
to grow
phosphorous short cycle
- phosphate in rocks dissolve in soil and water
- eaten by animals/absorbed by plants
- decompose into the ground
- cycle continues
phosphorous long cycle
- phosphate in rocks dissolve in soil and water
- runs into oceans and sediments
- geological lift brings phosphourous up back to soil/rock
CHNOPS
carbon hydrogen nitrogen oxygen phosphourous sulfur
albedo
a way of measuring how reflective a surface is
what does the polarity of water do
makes water an excellent solvent
how does the albedo effect climate
- If Earth’s climate is colder and there is more snow and ice on the planet
- albedo increases, more sunlight is reflected out to space
- and the climate gets even cooler.
