year 2 chap 12 Flashcards
1
Q
how does wasting food impact the environment?
A
- growing crops and livestock for food requires water, energy, minerals in the soil and other resources on earth
- wasting food is essentially wasting Earth’s limited resources.
1
Q
how do our actions negatively impact the environment?
A
- wasting food
- using more electricity
- using more water
- creating excessive waste
2
Q
how does using more electricity impact the environment?
A
- in Singapore, electrical energy is obtained by burning natural gas (which is a limited resource)
- when we use more electricity, more fuels are burnt to generate electricity
- more carbon dioxide is given off which contributes to climate change.
3
Q
how does using more water impact the environment?
A
- only 1% of Earth’s water is considered fresh water, making it a limited resource
- as consumption of water increases, fresh water decreases more quickly
4
Q
how does creating excessive waste impact the environment?
A
- when excessive waste is produced, more waste needs to be disposed
- improper disposal pollutes the air, water and land
- for example, waste that is disposed in the oceans can poison or kill marine organisms which consume it.
5
Q
how can using only the amount of resources that we need help converse the environment?
A
- it will help ensure Earth’s resources will last long enough for future needs
- it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the effects of climate change
6
Q
what are some actions we can take to conserve the environment?
A
- reducing the use of fossil fuels
- reducing consumption
- introducing environmentally friendly practices
- reforestation
7
Q
how does reducing the use of fossil fuels conserve the environment? and how can we do it?
A
- using energy-efficient appliances will help reduce the use of fossil fuels for powering cars and electrical appliances
- taking public transport or walking instead of taking a car
8
Q
how does reducing consumption conserve the environment? and how can we do it?
A
- we can reduce the need for raw materials such as wood which thus reduces deforestation
- by minimising the use of paper, reusing items and recycling are ways to reduce consumption
9
Q
how does introducing environmentally friendly practices conserve the environment? and how can we do it?
A
- it reduces the emission of greenhouse gases thus reducing the effects of climate change
- initiatives such as “bring your own bag” encourages us to be more environmentally friendly
10
Q
how does reforestion conserve the environment? and how can we do it?
A
- reforestation protects soil that stores carbon, when plants take in CO₂ during photosynthesis, they help store carbon and reduce the amount of CO₂ in the air
- by planting more trees
11
Q
what are the physical factors of the environment that affect survival?
A
- pH
- temperature
- salinity (concentration of salt)
- availability of water
- air, water, light and minerals
12
Q
what can physical factors of the environment be measured by?
A
data loggers and probes
13
Q
how do organisms that are suited to live in their specific environments survive long enough to reproduce?
A
they have adapted to their environment and have adaptive traits that enable them to grow well in their environment
14
Q
adaptive traits can either be?
A
structural or behavioural
15
Q
what does structural adaptations mean?
A
physical characteristics of an organism that helps it survive in its habitat
16
Q
what does behavioural adaptations mean?
A
different behaviours of an organism that allow it to survive in its habitat
17
Q
what happens to the animals that are unable to adapt when environmental conditions in habitats change?
A
organisms that are unable to survive under the new conditions will die :)
18
Q
what happens to the animals that are able to adapt when environmental conditions in habitats change?
A
- the animals that are able to survive will go on to reproduce
- their offspring will have similar adaptive traits and thus be able to survive under the new environmental conditions
19
Q
what are the physical factors of a rainforest?
A
- air is warm and has high humidity
- rainfall is frequent and abundant
- average temps are high and daily temp range is narrow
- large amt of sunlight reaches the tree canopy but little reaches the ground
- minerals are plentiful and mainly found near the surface of the soil
- soil is usually acidic
20
Q
what are the physical factors of a mangrove forest?
A
- immersed in seawater at high tide and becomes dry at low tide
- exposed to fresh water when it rains
- exposed to a lot of sunlight
- seawater carries many minerals to the habitat
- seawater is highly alkaline
21
Q
what is an organism?
give an example please
A
- a singular animal that is usually adapted to the environment it lives in
- a fish
22
Q
what is a population?
give an example please
A
- organisms of the same kind living in the same environment
- a group of fishes
23
Q
what is a community?
give an example please
A
- different populations of plants and animals living and interacting in a particular environment
- a group of fishes living alongside water snails, frogs and seaweed
24
what is an ecosystem?
give an example please
* interactions between a community and its physical environment
* the group of fishes, water snails, frogs and seaweed live in a pond and the water snails have homes in the sand and the fishes hide in the seaweed
25
what are the 3 different types of interrelationships in an ecosystem?
1. predator-prey relationship
2. mutualism
3. parasitism
26
the predator hunts and kills its prey for ___
food
27
what are some physical adaptations that a predator has so they can hunt successfully?
sharp teeth, high speed and sharp senses for detecting prey
28
what are some behavioural adaptations that a predator has so they can hunt successfully?
different hunting strategies like mimicking their prey
29
what are some physical adaptations that a prey has so they can avoid being caught by their predators?
high speed, small size, effective camouflage and defensive body parts like horns
30
what is a mutualism relationship?
a relationship where two or more organisms support or benefit one another
31
what is one way mutualism can occur?
when one organism provides another with protection in exchange for food
32
what is parasitism?
a relationship that happens when a parasite causes harm to its host
33
what is a parasite?
an organism that causes harm to another organism (known as the host) without killing it
34
how does the parasite benefit from the relationship?
by obtaining food or nutrients from the body of its host, which can be a plant or an animal
35
what happens when all the interrelationships between organisms in a community are maintained?
the result is a stable ecosystem
36
in a food chain or food web, what is the green plant and what does it do?
* they are producers
* they make food using carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light during photosynthesis
37
what is food produced by plants used for?
to provide energy needed for life processes in plants through a chemical reaction (cellular respiration)
38
what do plant cells do in the presence of oxygen?
they break down food substances through respiration to release energy
39
the energy released by the plants is used for?
growth and some of the energy is stored within the plants as chemical potential energy
40
food chains and food webs represent?
energy flow and nutrient cycling
41
how do animals obtain energy?
what are they known as?
* animals obtain energy when they feed on plants or other animals or both
* they are known as consumers
42
the ___ in food is used by the consumer during ___
chemical potential energy ; respiration
43
the feeding relationship between organisms is represented by ___ in a food chain
the arrows
44
what happens during feeding?
during feeding, energy & nutrients are transferred from one organism to another
45
what are the different levels of consumers?
primary consumer
secondary consumer
tertiary consumer
46
____ consumer feeds on the ____ consumer and the ____ consumer feeds on the ____ consumer
tertiary ; secondary
secondary ; primary
47
food webs show how one or more food chains are ____
interconnected
48
___ are always at the start of every food chain or food web
producers
49
why are producers at the start of every food chain or food web?
because they are the only organisms that can make food using light energy from the sun
50
in an ecosystem, the flow of ___ occurs with the flow of ___
energy ; nutrients
51
what is involved in the flow of energy and nutrients in the ecosystem?
photosynthesis and respiration
52
is the flow of energy cyclical or non-cyclical?
flow of energy in a food chain/food web is non-cyclical
53
what is the 10% rule?
at each stage, 90% of the energy is released into the environment as heat energy so only 10% of energy is passed on to the next stage
54
why is the flow of energy in a food chain/food web non-cyclical?
- producers respire to release energy for life processes
- consumers respire to release energy stored in food and release energy stored in undigested food in the form of faeces
- decomposers they release energy through respiration
- this energy cannot be reused by producers for photosynthesis so the flow of energy is cyclical
55
is the flow of nutrients cyclical or non-cyclical?
flow of nutrients in a food chain/food web is cyclical
56
why is the flow of nutrients in a food chain/food web cyclical?
- when producers are eaten by consumers, nutrients in them are transferred to the consumers
- when the consumers are eaten by their predators, the nutrients in them are passed on to their predators
- decomposers break down the remains of dead organisms and faeces which helps return the nutrients in them to the environment
57
how can we can help maintain the stability of the ecosystem?
by conserving the environment and hence the organisms living in it
58
why should we practise sustainable lifestyles?
to decrease the rate of climate change
59
how does practising sustainable lifestyles maintain the stability of the ecosystem?
this will slow down environmental changes and allows organisms and ecosystems sufficient time to adapt to any changes in their environments
60
how is SG trying to conserve the environment?
- composting of food waste
- the compost (decaying matter) can be used as fertilisers
- through composting, we can reduce the amount of waste that needs to be burnt and hence reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released
