bio test unit 14/15

Question 1

What is the study of the interactions of living things with each other and their physical environment called?

Answer 1

Ecology

Ecology examines how organisms interact with one another and with their environment.

Question 2

What is an organism?

Answer 2

An individual living thing, such as an alligator.

Question 3

Define population in ecological terms.

Answer 3

A group of the same species that lives in one area.

Question 4

What is a community?

Answer 4

A group of different species that live together in one area.

Question 5

Define ecosystem.

Answer 5

Includes all organisms and abiotic factors in a given area.

Question 6

What is a biome?

Answer 6

A collection of different ecosystems that share similar climate conditions.

Question 7

What is the biosphere?

Answer 7

The part of the earth’s crust, waters, and atmosphere that supports life.

Question 8

What is carrying capacity?

Answer 8

The maximum number of organisms the resources of an area can support.

Question 9

Define biodiversity.

Answer 9

The assortment or variety of living things in an ecosystem.

Question 10

True or False: Increased biodiversity leads to increased stability of an ecosystem.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

What are producers?

Answer 11

Organisms that get their energy from nonliving resources and make their own food.

Question 12

What are consumers?

Answer 12

Organisms that get their energy by eating other living or once-living resources.

Question 13

What are decomposers?

Answer 13

Organisms that break down organic matter into simpler compounds.

Question 14

What is a food chain?

Answer 14

A sequence that links species by their feeding relationships.

Question 15

In a food chain, the arrow points towards which organism?

Answer 15

The organism doing the feeding.

Question 16

What are trophic levels?

Answer 16

Levels of nourishment in a food chain.

Question 17

List the three trophic levels in a producer-herbivore-carnivore chain.

Answer 17

• Producer
• Herbivore
• Carnivore

Question 18

What percentage of energy is typically available to the next trophic level?

Answer 18

About 10 percent.

Question 19

What is a food web?

Answer 19

A model that shows the complex network of feeding relationships and energy flow within and beyond an ecosystem.

Question 20

Define symbiosis.

Answer 20

Living together with another organism in close association.

Question 21

What is mutualism?

Answer 21

A relationship where both organisms benefit.

Question 22

Give an example of mutualism.

Answer 22

The oxpecker bird and a rhino or zebra.

Question 23

Define parasitism.

Answer 23

A relationship where the parasite benefits at the expense of the host.

Question 24

Provide an example of parasitism.

Answer 24

Fleas or ticks that live on dogs and cats.

Question 25

What is commensalism?

Answer 25

A relationship where one organism benefits greatly and the other is not helped but is not harmed.

Question 26

Give an example of commensalism.

Answer 26

Barnacles attaching to whales.

Question 27

What is the water cycle?

Answer 27

The circular pathway of water on Earth from the atmosphere to the surface, below ground, and back.

Question 28

List the processes included in the water cycle.

Answer 28

* Runoff * Evaporation * Condensation * Transpiration * Precipitation

Question 29

What elements essential for life cycle through ecosystems?

Answer 29

* Oxygen * Carbon * Phosphorus * Nitrogen

Question 30

What is the carbon cycle?

Answer 30

The flow of carbon from the environment to living organisms and back.

Question 31

What is nitrogen fixation?

Answer 31

The process by which certain bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into ammonia.

Question 32

What is unique about the phosphorus cycle?

Answer 32

It does not include an atmospheric portion.

Question 33

What is the difference between a habitat and a niche?

Answer 33

A habitat is where a species lives; a niche is how it lives within that habitat.

Question 34

Define predation.

Answer 34

The process by which one organism captures and feeds upon another organism.

Question 35

What factors affect population growth?

Answer 35

* Immigration * Births * Emigration * Deaths

Question 36

What is population density?

Answer 36

A measurement of the number of individuals living in a defined space.

Question 37

What is a limiting factor?

Answer 37

The factor that has the greatest effect in keeping down the size of a population.

Question 38

What is ecological succession?

Answer 38

The sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged community or create a new community.

Question 39

What is primary succession?

Answer 39

Establishment of an ecosystem in an area that was previously uninhabited.

Question 40

What are pioneer species?

Answer 40

The first organisms that live in an uninhabited area.

Question 41

What is secondary succession?

Answer 41

Reestablishment of a damaged ecosystem.

Question 42

How does human population growth impact natural resources?

Answer 42

It exerts pressure on Earth's natural resources.

Question 43

What is pollution?

Answer 43

Any undesirable factor added to the air, water, or soil.