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Nat 5 Bio > Life On Earth > Flashcards

Life On Earth Flashcards

(51 cards)

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1
Q

Define ‘species’.

A

A species is a group of organisms that can breed with one another to create fertile offspring.

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2
Q

Define ‘population’ within an ecosystem.

A

A population is a group of the one species within an ecosystem.

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3
Q

What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?

A

Producers are organisms that make their own nutrients, whereas consumers gain their nutrients from other organisms.

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4
Q

What is the difference between predators and prey?

A

Predators are animals that hunt and kill other animals for food. Prey are animals that are hunted and killed by predators.

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5
Q

Define ‘biodiversity’.

A

Biodiversity describes the variety of life on Earth or in a particular place.

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6
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

An ecosystem contains all living organisms living within a particular habitat and all of the non-living components with which they interact.

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7
Q

What is a habitat?

A

The non-living, natural environment where an organism lives.

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8
Q

What is a food chain?

A

A diagram which shows the flow of energy in a simple set of feeding relationships.

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9
Q

What is a niche?

A

A niche is the specific role that an organism plays within a community. This includes what the organism requires from the environment, such as sunlight and nutrients, as well as how it interacts with other life within the community. Niche also includes the predation and competition the organism experiences with other organisms and the abiotic factors that an organism tolerates, such as temperature.

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10
Q

What are biotic factors?

A

Biotic factors are interactions that an organism has with other organisms.

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11
Q

What are abiotic factors?

A

Abiotic factors are non-biological factors that an organism can tolerate.

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12
Q

Give 4 examples of abiotic factors.

A

Temperature, soil moisture, soil pH, light intensity.

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13
Q

What is interspecific competition?

A

Competition between organisms of different species for similar resources such as water, food, and mates.

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14
Q

What is intraspecific competition?

A

Competition between organisms of the same species for the same resources such as water, food, and mates.

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15
Q

Of the two, what kind of competition is more intense?

A

Intraspecific competition.

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16
Q

How do you measure temperature?

A

Using a thermometer.

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17
Q

How do you measure light intensity?

A

Place a light meter on the ground and point towards the point of highest light intensity.

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18
Q

How do you measure soil pH?

A

Place the probe of a soil pH meter into the soil to measure soil pH levels.

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19
Q

How do you measure soil moisture levels?

A

Place the probe of a soil moisture meter into the soil to measure soil moisture levels.

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20
Q

Give 4 examples of biotic factors.

A

Disease, competition for resources, food availability, predation, grazing.

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21
Q

How do you sample using quadrats?

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A

Place the quadrat in a random location so that a representative sample can be taken. Plants and small, slow-moving animals can be recorded by noting the number of organisms and the species types within the quadrat.

22
Q

How do you sample using pitfall traps?

Study These Flashcards
A

Pitfall traps can be used to sample small invertebrate animals.

23
Q

What is an indicator species?

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A

An indicator species is a species that can be used to assess the environmental quality of a habitat.

24
Q

What environmental factors can indicator species indicate?

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A

Environmental quality of the habitat and the levels of pollution.

25
Give 2 examples of indicator species and what they indicate.
Type of lichen on trees - indicates different levels of air pollution. Presence of certain species - indicates the level of freshwater quality.
26
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen.
27
What cellular functions do plant cells use glucose for?
Glucose can be used for respiration, converted to starch for storage, or converted to cellulose to provide structural support for plant cell walls.
28
What can glucose be stored as in plant cells?
Glucose can be stored as starch.
29
What is the name of the first stage of photosynthesis?
The first stage of photosynthesis is called the light reactions.
30
Describe the first stage of photosynthesis.
In the first stage, light energy from the sun is absorbed by chlorophyll, converted to chemical energy, and ATP is created. This chemical energy is used to split water into oxygen and hydrogen.
31
What is the byproduct of the first stage of photosynthesis?
The byproduct of the first stage of photosynthesis is oxygen.
32
What is the name of the second stage of photosynthesis?
Carbon fixation.
33
Describe the second stage of photosynthesis.
Through a series of enzyme-controlled reactions, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide and ATP are used to produce sugar.
34
What are the potential limiting factors of photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide concentration, temperature, Light intensity.
35
Write a summary word equation for photosynthesis.
Carbon Dioxide + Water - Light energy, Sugar + Oxygen.
36
What are the uses of chemical energy available in sugar?
Sugar can be available for respiration or can be converted to starch (storage) or cellulose (structural).
37
Describe energy transfer in the food chain.
Energy is transferred when one organism ingests another. Most of the energy is lost as you move up the food chain. Only a very small quantity is used for growth in the next level.
38
How can energy be lost in the food chain?
Heat, undigested food and movement.
39
What is a pyramid of energy?
A pyramid of energy shows the quantity of energy in each trophic level of the food chain.
40
What is a pyramid of numbers?
A pyramid of numbers shows the number of organisms at each trophic level of the food chain.
41
Why are nitrates important for food production?
Nitrogen is a major component in amino acids, so nitrates are essential for effective protein production. Nitrates help plants produce the amino acids required for protein synthesis. Nitrates are important to increase crop yield.
42
What are fertilisers?
Fertilisers restore nitrates to the soil that are essential for plant growth, and so help increase crop yield.
43
What are pesticides?
Pesticides are substances that are used to kill and control animal or plant pests that would affect crop yield.
44
What are the disadvantages of using fertilisers?
Fertilisers can leach into fresh water, providing extra, unwanted nitrates for species such as algae. This can increase algae in fresh water causing algal blooms. These algal blooms can kill fresh-water life by reducing light levels. Dead plants and algae can then be consumed by bacteria. Increasing bacteria levels then reduces oxygen availability for other organisms.
45
What are the disadvantages of using pesticides?
The chemicals within pesticides can build up in organisms consuming the plants, and as this is passed along the food chain, these chemicals can build up to toxic and lethal levels within organisms. This is called bioaccumulation.
46
What can be used as an alternative to fertilisers?
Genetically modified crops (GM crops) to reduce the use of fertilisers.
47
What can be used as an alternative to pesticides?
Biological control and GM crops.
48
What is a mutation?
A random change in genetic material.
49
How can mutations impact evolution?
Mutations are spontaneous and are the only source of new alleles. These new alleles may code for a phenotype that is favourable for an organism's survival. These favoured alleles will be passed on through generations, helping a species evolve.
50
What increases the rate of mutations?
Environmental factors such as radiation, some chemicals or from viral infections.
51
State 3 possible effects of mutations on survival.
Neutral (no effect), give an advantage or give a disadvantage.

Nat 5 Bio (3 decks)

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