Exam Review Flashcards
What is ecology?
The scientific study of the relationships that living organisms have with each other and their environment.
What is an ecological footprint? How can we reduce ours?
This measures how much productive land and water it takes to support the lifestyle of an individual, a city, a region or county in today’s office
We can reduce this by saving water, recycling, and carpooling.
What is an ecosystem?
It’s an association of organisms and their physical environment, interconnected by ongoing flow of energy and cycling of material.
What are autotrophs?
Captures sunlight or chemical energy
Producers (plants)
Heterotrophs?
These extract energy from other organisms or organic waste
These are consumers and decomposers
What are producers?
They make their own food by photosynthesis.
Equation for photosynthesis.
6CO2 + 12H2O —> C6 H12 O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
Define consumers
Primary consumers - feed directly on plants
Secondary consumers - feed on primary consumers
Tertiary consumers - feed on secondary consumers
Define herbivore
Animals that only eat plants
Define carnivore
Animals that only eat meat
Define omnivore
Animals that eat both plants and meat
Define parasites
Organisms that feed off other living organisms
Define decomposers
Organism that feeds off and breaks down dead plant or animal matter, returning essential nutrients to the ecosystems
What are primary consumers?
They feed directly on plants
What are secondary consumers
They feed directly on primary consumers
Tertiary consumer
Feeds on secondary consumers
What is a food chain? Give an example.
A food chain shows how each living thing get nutrients or eats.
Grass -> grasshopper -> snake -> hawk
What is a food web and what do the arrows in a food web mean?
A food web is a complex food chain. The arrows show which way the energy is going.
What is a sustainable ecosystem and what do ecosystems provide?
A sustainable ecosystem is a environment that is able to support itself without outside assistance. They provide everything an environments needs to thrive.
Define biotic factors
Living thing ex) grass (animals eat grass)
Define abiotic factors
Non - living thing ex) rock (bugs live under them)
What is a population?
A group of organisms of the same species living in the same ecosystem
What is exponential growth? What could cause a population to grow exponentially?
Increase in number or size. Ex) if all the frogs died off the bug population would grow exponentially.
Define carrying capacity
the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.
What is sustainability?
How ecosystems stay productive
Describe he nitrogen cycle
All living things need nitrogen to survive
Although there is a lot of it in the air it can not be used that way
Special bacteria in certain plants convert it for use
The plants are eaten
When the animal or consumer does the nitrogen goes into the soil
Then special bacteria but it back into the atmosphere
Define biodiversity
The number and variety of organisms found in a specific region
What is a paradigm and a paradigm shift ?
Is a view of the world on a way of thinking about how the world works
A shift is a significant change in the way humans view the world
What is a chemical change?
Change that results in the formation of new chemical substances
What is physical change
Changes in state (liquid, gas, solid)
What is a pure substance
Uniform throughout
Homogeneous
What is an element
Consists of one kind of atom (from the periodic table)
Define compound
Consists of two or more atoms that are chemically combined
Homogenous
Same
Heterogeneous
Different
Mechanical mixtures
Two or more substance you can see
Ex) rocks and water
Salad
Solution
Two or more substances you can’t see
Ex) kool aid
Groups
Up and down
Periods
Across
Metals
On the right
Non metals
Left of the table
Metalloids
On the staircase
What charge do protons have
Positive charge