2.2 Energy and Biomass

Question 1

Laws of Thermodynamics

Answer 1

1) Energy cannot be created or destroyed.
2) For a spontaneous process, the entropy of the universe increases.
3) A perfect crystal at zero Kelvin has zero entropy
etc. etc.

Question 2

photosynthesis

Answer 2

the process by which plants and other organisms convert light energy into chemical energy in the form of carbohydrates (sugars)

Question 3

cellular respiration

Answer 3

process by which living organisms convert the chemical energy stored in food (like glucose) into a usable form of energy, called ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

Question 4

conservation of energy

Answer 4

energy cannot be created or destroyed, but rather it can be transformed from one form to another within a closed system

Question 5

carbon compounds

Answer 5

chemical substances that contain carbon

Question 6

organic matter

Answer 6

substances derived from or composed of living organisms

Question 7

non-biodegradable

Answer 7

can not be broken down into its base compounds by micro-organisms, air, moisture or soil in a reasonable amount of time

Question 8

biomass

Answer 8

the total mass of living organisms within a given area or ecosystem at a specific time

Question 9

sustainability

Answer 9

the use of global resources at a rate that allows natural regeneration and minimizes damage to the environment

Question 10

energy transfer

Answer 10

Transfer of chemical energy from one trophic level to another with varying efficiencies

Question 11

trophic levels

Answer 11

the position an organism occupies in a food web

Question 12

bioaccumulation

Answer 12

the increase in the concentration of a substance, particularly a contaminant, in a living organism over time, as it absorbs or ingests that substance from its environment

Question 13

autotrophs

Answer 13

an organism that produces its own food from inorganic substances using energy from light or chemical reactions

Question 14

producers

Answer 14

organisms that create their own food using sunlight or chemical energy through processes like photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Question 15

food chains

Answer 15

linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another

Question 16

food webs

Answer 16

a network of interconnected food chain

Question 17

equilibrium

Answer 17

a state of balance where an ecosystem or system remains relatively stable over time, despite ongoing inputs and outputs of energy and matter

Question 18

biomagnification

Answer 18

the tendency of pollutants to concentrate as they move from one trophic level to the next

Question 19

energy

Answer 19

the capacity to do work or create change - drives physical, chemical, and biochemical processes

Question 20

gross productivity

Answer 20

the total gain in biomass by an organism or community in a given area or time period

Question 21

energy efficiency

Answer 21

using technologies, designs, and practices that require less energy to perform the same task or achieve the same outcome

Question 22

ecological pyramids

Answer 22

an illustration of the reduction in energy as you move through each feeding (trophic) level in an ecosystem

Question 23

energy transformation

Answer 23

a change in state of energy (Eg potential energy to kinetic energy)

Question 24

heterotrophs

Answer 24

an organism that eats other plants or animals for energy and nutrients

Question 25

photoautotrophs

Answer 25

organisms that synthesize food through the use of light energy

Question 26

chemoautotrophs

Answer 26

An organism that obtains energy through chemosynthesis rather than by photosynthesis (often seen in deep-sea producers using chemicals from thermal vents)

Question 27

secondary productivity

Answer 27

energy/biomass assimilated by consumers

Question 28

assimilation

Answer 28

the process by which organisms incorporate nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from their environment into their bodies

Question 29

net primary productivity (NPP)

Answer 29

the gain by producers in energy or biomass per unit area per unit time remaining after allowing for respiratory losses

Question 30

maximum sustainable yields

Answer 30

the largest yield that can be taken from a specific stock over an indefinite period under constant environmental conditions

Question 31

ecological efficiency

Answer 31

the percentage of energy that is transferred from one trophic level to the next in a food chain or web

Question 32

entropy

Answer 32

refers to the measure of a system's disorder or randomness