//b/3/./3// Flashcards
(15 cards)
- How are organisms classified into groups?
according to similarities and differences in characteristics including:
- physical features
- similarities in their DNA
- What different levels are organisms classified into?
- different levels
- kingdoms: large groups, many organisms ,small number of characteristics in common
- smaller groups
- species: smaller groups, fewer organisms, more characteristics in common
- What does the classification of living and fossil organisms help?
- make sense of the enormous diversity of organisms on Earth
- show the evolutionary relationships between organisms
- What does biodiversity refer to?
- the number of different species
- the range of different types of organisms, e.g. plants, animals and microorganisms
- the genetic variation within species
- What is biodiversity important for?
- food crops
- medicines
- Why is biodiversity important for the future development of food crops and medicines?
- more plants= more resources= more new food crops
- living things= produce medicine (without species certain treatments wouldn’t be accessible)
- What is happening to the rate of extinction of species and why?
- it is increasing
- it is most likely to be due to human activity (e.g. directly- hunting, indirectly- destroying organisms’ habitats, introducing new species)
- Why is maintaining biodiversity to ensure the conservation of different species one of the keys to sustainability?
- loss of biodiversity means future generations wont be able to get things from the environment that we can today
- for example less species= less food/medicine
- What does sustainability mean (definition)?
Sustainability means meeting the needs of people today without damaging the Earth for future generations
- What is large scale monoculture crop production?
Where farmers grow fields containing only one type of crop
- Why is large- scale monoculture crop production not sustainable?
Because it does not maintain biodiversity.
-a single type of crop will support fewer different species than a field containing multiple types of crop.
- How can sustainability be improved?
-by the use of packaging materials
- What are examples of improving sustainability by the use of packaging materials?
-renewable materials
e.g. paper as can replant trees
-biodegradable materials
=don’t pollute land as much
-recycled materials
=less energy making=less burning fossil fuels
- Why is it preferable to use less of some materials, including packaging materials, even when they are biodegradable?
- use of energy in their making and transport of materials
- materials take a while to breakdown in landfill sites die to lack of oxygen
- What are the different kingdoms?
bacteria, fungi, algae, plants, and animals
