Semester 2 Exam Year 11

Question 1

Define Abiotic

Answer 1

 Abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.

Question 2

Define Biotic

Answer 2

 Biotic factors are the living components of an ecosystem. They are sorted into three groups: producers or autotrophs, consumers or heterotrophs, and decomposers or detritivores

Question 3

How do Abiotic factors effect distribution and Abundance

Answer 3

 Abiotic factors affect the distribution and abundance through the climate (how hot, cold, rainy humid it is), topography/geography (how rocky the ground is, how high above sea level is it) seasons, location on globe (hotter the closer we get to the equator) and desertification (deserts growing bigger and bigger)

Question 4

How do Biotic factors effect distribution and Abundance

Answer 4

 Biotic factors affecting the distribution and abundance through the biome (the distribution of vegetation, levels of pests, predators and prey, the water availability)

Question 5

Define Symbiotic Relationships

Answer 5

 A special type of interaction between species. Sometimes beneficial, sometimes harmful, these relationships are essential to many organisms and ecosystems, and they provide a balance that can only be achieved by working together

Question 6

Define Mutualism

Answer 6

 This is when both organisms benefit from the relationship, for example sharks and the parasite feeding fish that clean them. The shark benefit from being cleaned and the fish get the sharks left overs.

Question 7

Define Parasitism

Answer 7

 Parasitism is a relationship between two things in which one of them (the parasite) benefits from or lives off the other, like fleas on your dog

Question 8

Define Commensalism

Answer 8

 An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm. For example, the relationship between cattle egrets and cattle.

Question 9

Define Interspecies/ Interspecific

Answer 9

 Interspecific competition is a form of competition in which individuals of different species compete for the same resource in an ecosystem for example food or living space

Question 10

Define o Intraspecies / Intraspecific

Answer 10

 Intraspecific competition is an interaction whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources. This leads to a reduction in fitness for both individuals.

Question 11

What are Adaptations

Answer 11

 An inherited characteristic that helps an organism to survive long enough to reproduce more successfully in its changing environment and can either be structural or behavioural

Question 12

What are Behavioural Adaptations

Answer 12

 Ways an organism act to help them survive in their environment. For example, migration, hibernation, warning calls, mating dances, hunting in packs

Question 13

What are Structural Adaptations

Answer 13

 Actual body parts or coloration that help an organism survive in their environment. For example, camouflage, mimicry, bent hind legs, sharp teeth and claws, body structures

Question 14

What are the Behavioural Adaptations of Animals

Answer 14

Migration 
Hibernation 
Living in a Group 
Tool Use
Playing Dead 
Calling
Threatening Gestures

Question 15

What are the Structural Adaptations of Animals

Answer 15

Camouflage/ Colouration 
Mimicry 
Bent hind legs 
Eyes
Teeth

Question 16

What are the Behavioural Adaptations of Plants

Answer 16

Tropism
Dormancy
Phototropism
Gravitropism

Question 17

Explain Tropism

Answer 17

movement of a plant toward or away from a stimulus. Toward is called positive, away is called negative.

Question 18

Explain Dormancy

Answer 18

Many plants go dormant in the winter. Fall is the time of year when plants are preparing for dormancy

Question 19

Explain Phototropism

Answer 19

When the plant senses light and the shoots (stems & leaves) grow toward the light source. This is a positive tropism because the plant is growing toward the stimulus

Question 20

Explain Gravitropism

Answer 20

When growth of a plant changes in response to direction of gravity

Question 21

What are the Structural Adaptations of Plants

Answer 21

 Structures adaptations on the body: holdfasts, empty space for water storage, catch animals for minerals, tallness, heartiness, thorns, flexibility, floatation devices. For protection, obtaining food and dispersing seed

Question 22

What Structural Adaptations do plants undergo for protection

Answer 22

Develop thorns, bad taste, poison, coloration, spikes

Question 23

How are seeds dispersed

Answer 23

Carried by wind (parachutes, wings)
Carried on animal’s fur or feathers 
Carried by water (float)
Eaten by animals 
Mechanically propelled

Question 24

What Structural Adaptations do plants undergo for obtaining food

Answer 24

All plants do photosynthesis and make glucose in their leaves. The larger the leaves the more Sun they can capture.

Question 25

Define Innate Behaviours

Answer 25

When a behaviour is essentially the same in all members of a species, the behaviour is call innate or inborn behaviour. It is genetically controlled.

Question 26

Define Learned Behaviours

Answer 26

Learned behaviours are those that develop or change as we are shown how to do something. Copy, trial-and-error are some of the ways animals learn. When a behaviour is changed because of experience, learning has occurred

Question 27

Types of innate behaviour

Answer 27

Rhythmic behaviours Eg. Eating, sleeping, seasonal migration
Communication behaviours
Reproductive Behaviours 
Competitive Behaviours 
Dominance Behaviours 
Territorial and social interactions

Question 28

Types of learned behaviour

Answer 28

Conditioning – respond to stimulus that normally does not elicit response
Operant conditioning – animal relates behaviour with reward or punishment and repeats or avoids behaviour
Habituation – cease to respond to stimuli
Imprinting – association with an object after exposure to it very early in life
Observational – learns from observing actions of others

Question 29

What are food webs

Answer 29

Where most organisms eat more than JUST one organism. When more organisms are involved it is known as a FOOD WEB. Food webs are more complex and involve lots of organisms

Question 30

What are food chains

Answer 30

 The energy flow from one trophic level to the other is known as a food chain. A food chain is simple and direct. It involves one organism at each trophic level

Question 31

What are producers/autotrophs

Answer 31

 A group of organisms that can use the energy in sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into Glucose (food)

Question 32

What are consumers/heterotrophs

Answer 32

 Organisms that do not make their own food. Another term for Heterotroph is consumer because they consume other organisms to live Ex. Rabbits, Deer, Mushrooms

Question 33

What are Chemotrophs (Autotrophs/ Producers)

Answer 33

 Autotrophs that get their energy from inorganic substances, such as salt. Live deep down in the ocean where there is no sunlight Ex. Bacteria and Deep Sea Worms

Question 34

What are the different Heterotrophs/consumers?

Answer 34

Scavengers/ Detritivores 
Herbivores 
Carnivores 
Omnivores
Decomposers

Question 35

What is the ecological food pyramid

Answer 35

 An ecological pyramid shows the relationship between consumers and producers at different trophic levels in an ecosystem. Shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained at each trophic level. The Pyramid shows which level has the most energy and the highest number of organisms

Question 36

What are the different Trophic Levels

Answer 36

Producers/ Autotrophs
Primary Consumers – eat autotrophs (producers)
Secondary Consumers – eat the primary consumers
Tertiary Consumers – eat the secondary consumers
Decomposers – bacteria and fungi that break down dead organisms and recycle the material back into the environment

Question 37

Define Organic

Answer 37

Relating to or derived from living matter.

Question 38

Define Inorganic

Answer 38

Not consisting of or deriving from living matter.

Question 39

What are the steps in the carbon cycle

Answer 39

Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration and combustion.
Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers to make carbohydrates in photosynthesis.
Animals feed on the plant passing the carbon compounds along the food chain.

Question 40

What are the steps in the nitrogen cycle

Answer 40

Nitrogen Fixation- Special bacteria convert the nitrogen gas (N2) to ammonia (NH3) which the plants can use.
Nitrification is the process which converts the ammonia into nitrite ions which the plants can take in as nutrients.

Question 41

What are the steps in the phosphorus cycle

Answer 41

Phosphorus moves in a cycle through rocks, water, soil and sediments and organisms. Here are the key steps of the phosphorus cycle: Over time, rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ions and other minerals.
Rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ions and other minerals. This inorganic phosphate is then distributed in soils and water.
Plants take up inorganic phosphate from the soil.
The plants may then be consumed by animals. Once in the plant or animal, the phosphate is incorporated into organic molecules such as DNA. When the plant or animal dies, it decays, and the organic phosphate is returned to the soil.Within the soil, organic forms of phosphate can be made available to plants by bacteria that break down organic matter to inorganic forms of phosphorus. This process is known as mineralisation.
Phosphorus in soil can end up in waterways and eventually oceans. Once there, it can be incorporated into sediments over time.

Question 42

What are positive effects humans have on the environment and ecosystem

Answer 42

Plant trees
Clean rivers
Pick up trash.
Recycling

Question 43

What are negative effects humans have on the environment and ecosystem

Answer 43

Chopping down forests
Cars burning off greenhouse gases.
Pollution
Waste dumping
Over hunting of animals
Over fishing
Industrial gases

Question 44

What is a micro-organism

Answer 44

microscopic organism, especially a bacterium, virus, or fungus.

Question 45

What are quadrants

Answer 45

 A square frame made of wood or metal. A number of small areas of a habitat selected at random to act as samples for assessing the local distribution of plants and animals.

Question 46

What are transects

Answer 46

 A line across a habitat or part of the habitat from which the amount of plants can be measured at intervals.

Question 47

What is carrying capacity

Answer 47

 The natural limit to the number of organisms that can occupy an environment. This depends if the environmental factors such as; seasonal changes, and environmental events such as fires or cyclones.

Question 48

Predators effects on population numbers

Answer 48

As the predators numbers rise the prey numbers will fall then the prey numbers will start to grow resulting in the predators numbers rising again. This creates a cycle where neither predator or prey will completely go extinct.

Question 49

Physiological Adaptation in Animals

Answer 49

 Internal systematic responses to external stimuli in order to help an organism maintain homeostasis.

Question 50

Define Species Distribution

Answer 50

 The way the organism is spread out over an area.

Question 51

Define species Abundance

Answer 51

 The relative representation of a species in a ecosystem and is shown as the number of individuals per sample.