Science: Matter and Energy in Ecosystems

Question 1

What is ecosystem

Answer 1

The way living and non living things in an area interact

Question 2

What is abiotic

Answer 2

Non living parts of an ecosystem

Question 3

What is biotic

Answer 3

Living parts of an ecosystem

Question 4

What is community

Answer 4

All organisms living in an ecosystem

Question 5

What is interact

Answer 5

To affect another organism and be affected by it

Question 6

What is producer

Answer 6

An organism that can make its own nutrients

Question 7

What is decomposer

Answer 7

An organism that breaks down bodies of dead organisms

Question 8

What is microbe

Answer 8

An organism that is too small to see

Question 9

What is consumer?

Answer 9

An organism that needs to eat another to survive, such as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores

Question 10

What is food chain

Answer 10

A model that shows how matter and energy flow from one organism to another

Question 11

What is food web

Answer 11

A model of the transfer of energy that shows how all the organisms in an ecosystem interact, that looks like overlapping food chains

Question 12

What is transfer

Answer 12

To change or move from one object to another

Question 13

What is succession

Answer 13

A series of changes in a community

Question 14

What is primary succession

Answer 14

When plants and animals start living on new land (for example, new land formed by volcanoes).

Question 15

What is secondary succession

Answer 15

When plants and animals return to land which was previously disturbed or damaged

Question 16

What is stable

Answer 16

Steady or unchanging

Question 17

What is competition

Answer 17

When organisms in an ecosystem need the same resources

Question 18

What is cycle

Answer 18

To move through a series of steps that repeat

Question 19

What are examples of abiotic factors in an ecosystem?

Answer 19

Air, water, rocks, soil, sunlight.

Question 20

What key factors determine the number and types of organisms that can live in an ecosystem? What are some examples?

Answer 20

Water, temperature, sunlight

Deserts do not have many living organisms because of a lack of water

Rainforests have many living organisms due to lots of water from rain, lots of sunlight, and warm temperature

Question 21

True or false: plants need food to grow, so it is not a producer

Answer 21

False.

Plants need food but they make their own food from non living matter, so they are producers

Question 22

What would happen if there were no producers?

Answer 22

Producers takes energy non living things to make food - energy and matter transfers to another organism when a producer is eaten. Without producers, this energy and matter are not available to other organisms, which makes it more difficult for organisms to find food

Question 23

What role do decomposers play in an ecosystem?

Answer 23

Decomposers help return nutrients from dead organisms into the soil, which in turn supports producers such as plants, which are a critical source of food

Question 24

What do ocean food chains begin with?

Answer 24

Phytoplankton

Question 25

What organism is at the top of the ocean food chain?

Answer 25

Sharks, because they rarely in danger of being eaten by other ocean organisms

Question 26

True or false: disturbances such as fires, volcanic eruptions, floods) can be good for an ecosystem

Answer 26

True. Ecosystems are constantly changing, and disturbances are natural and important for ecosystem health, leading to new habitats and increased biodiversity. Disturbances can actually maintain long-term ecosystem health.

Question 27

What are examples of primary species, and why are they important?

Answer 27

Examples are: prokaryotes, protists, mosses, and lichens. They are the first to colonize new soil. They are crucial because they help build soil by breaking down rock into useful nutrients, which allows more complex organisms to develop later on.

Question 28

Is competition good or bad in an ecosystem.

Answer 28

Competition is usually not a problem in stable ecosystems. It does become a problem when it leads to an unbalanced ecosystem, for example when a new species is introduced to a stable ecosystem and out-competes existing organisms.

Question 29

What are characteristics of healthy ecosystems?

Answer 29

- Adequate shelter - Balance of producers, consumers and decomposers - A variety of species - Adequate supply of clean air, water, and nutrients

Question 30

What are threats to healthy ecosystems?

Answer 30

- Habitat loss due to human actions and natural events such as forest fires - Newly introduced species that crowd out other species - Rapidly growing human population - Over-fishing or over-harvesting - Pollution, drought

Question 31

What are the key stages of primary succession?

Answer 31

(1) Starting Point: Bare Rock - there is no soil or life. (2) Pioneer Species: These are the very first organisms to colonize the bare rock, such as lichens which can grow directly on rock. They help break down the rock to start forming soil. (3) Intermediate Species: As soil slowly begins to form, small annual plants and more lichens appear. Over time, these are replaced by grasses, shrubs, and shade-intolerant trees like pines. These steps continue to add to and improve the soil. (4) Climax Community: This is the final stage where a stable community of larger, shade-tolerant trees like oak and hickory can grow. This process can take hundreds of years.

Question 32

What are key stages of secondary succession?

Answer 32

(1) Starting Point: Disturbance - The process begins after an event like a fire, which removes existing plants but leaves the soil intact. (2) Pioneer Species: These are the first plants to grow back in the disturbed area, which happens within 1-2 years after a disturbance. (3) Intermediate Species: As time passes (3-4 years), grasses and perennials start to grow. After 5-150 years, larger grasses, shrubs, pines, and young oak and hickory trees begin to dominate. (4) Climax Community: This is the most stable and mature stage of succession. After 150+ years, it becomes a mature oak and hickory forest.

Question 33

Why is secondary succession generally faster than primary succession?

Answer 33

Because the soil is already present from the beginning of a secondary succession.

Question 34

Describe the cycle of matter

Answer 34

First, producers take in matter from air, soil and water. Matters travel to consumers when they eat plants or animals. Decomposers break down dead bodies of organisms and waste that organism makes, returning matter to the soil, which can be used by new plants.

Question 35

True or false: most of the energy from food that organisms eat is stored in their bodies.

Answer 35

False. Most of the energy from food is used for organisms to do different activities, and very little is stored. That's why organisms must have food, to replenish the energy they need.

Question 36

Describe how carbon moves through ecosystems

Answer 36

Carbon moves through ecosystems in a cycle. Trees and grass use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food. This produces sugars, wood and other organic matter. So the carbon dioxide from the air becomes part of the matter that makes up trees or grass. When cows eat grass, it takes in the carbon dioxide from the grass. When cows breathe, they release carbon dioxide back into the air. When plants die, decomposers break down the matter, and carbon dioxide is also released into the air.

Question 37

True or false: the matter that makes up everything on earth has been constantly cycling for most of earth's history.

Answer 37

True

Question 38

How is movement of energy in an ecosystem different from movement of nutrients?

Answer 38

The biggest difference is that energy flows in one direction and is eventually lost, while nutrients are recycled over and over again. Energy starts from the sun, to consumers, and to consumers, but is not recycled back to the sun. But nutrients move through an ecosystem in cycles that happen over and over again.

Question 39

How is movement of energy in an ecosystem different from movement of nutrients?

Answer 39

The biggest difference is that energy flows in one direction and is eventually lost, while nutrients are recycled over and over again. Energy starts from the sun, to consumers, and to consumers, but is not recycled back to the sun. But nutrients move through an ecosystem in cycles that happen over and over again.

Question 40

What is the difference between organic and inorganic compounds?

Answer 40

Organic compounds are special chemical compounds that always contain carbon (linked together with other elements like hydrogen, oxygen, or nitrogen). Inorganic compounds are usually simpler compounds that generally do not contain carbon.

Question 41

Describe the nitrogen cycle

Answer 41

Nitrogen is essential for life because it's in our DNA and proteins, but we can't breathe it directly from the air. The nitrogen cycle is how nitrogen moves around between the air, soil, plants, animals, and back again: - Nitrogen from the air gets into the soil through rain or snow. - Special bacteria in the soil and on plant roots change the nitrogen into a form plants can use. This is called nitrogen fixation. - Plants take up the nitrogen from the soil to help them grow - Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating plants - When plants and animals die, or animals produce waste, decomposers break them down. This puts the nitrogen back into the soil. - Some bacteria in the soil change the nitrogen back into a gas, and it goes back into the atmosphere.

Question 42

Describe the phosphorous cycle

Answer 42

The phosphorus cycle is how phosphorus moves through the ecosystem. Phosphorus is crucial for plant and animal growth, healthy soil, and important molecules like DNA. The 4 steps are: - Rocks break down, releasing phosphorus into the soil and water - Plants and tiny organisms absorb phosphorus, and animals get it by eating plants or drinking water - When plants and animals die, they decompose, returning phosphorus to the soil - Some phosphorus ends up buried and forms rocks, continuing the cycle

Question 43

Describe the oxygen cycle

Answer 43

The oxygen cycle is how oxygen moves through different parts of Earth, including the air, living things, and water. It's closely linked to the carbon cycle. Here's how it works: - The main way oxygen gets into the atmosphere is through photosynthesis. Plants take in carbon dioxide and sunlight, and then they release oxygen - Animals and humans breathe in oxygen from the atmosphere. We use this oxygen during cellular respiration to break down food and get energy for our bodies. When we breathe out, we release carbon dioxide, which plants then use to make more oxygen - When plants and animals die, decomposers break down their bodies. This process also uses oxygen and releases carbon dioxide that plants then use to make more oxygen