STUDY Flashcards
(19 cards)
Hydrosphere
All of earths water
Oceans, rivers, streams, lakes, ice/glaciers (cryosphere)
Atmosphere
All of earths air
Nitrogen gas, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other trace gasses
The source of oxygen and carbon dioxide for life
Regulates climate and weather
Lithosphere
All the rocks, minerals, soil, magma, lava, etc. that makes up the planet
The source of many nutrients needed for life
Biosphere
The region of earth where life exists
Explain water cycle
- Liquid water evaporates
- Vapour moves through atmosphere, condenses to form water droplets/ice crystals that fall back to soil, into groundwater/rivers/lakes/oceans
- Animals release water vapour into atmosphere
- Most water on earth is in an abiotic environment
Explain carbon cycle
The cycling of carbon through abiotic and biotic environments
Organic sources of carbon always contain carbon and hydrogen atoms and often have oxygen and nitrogen atoms
Explain nitrogen cycle
77% of the atmosphere is nitrogen gas
Plants and animals cannot use this type of nitrogen
Must be changed to NO3 (nitrate) to be useful
This conversion process is called nitrogen fixation
Explain the food chain
The transfer of energy from sun to producer to primary consumer to secondary consumer etc
Explain consumer
Organisms that can’t make their own energy and food. They rely on other producers and consumers
Explain trophic
Means feeder
An organisms trophic level refers to an organisms level on the food chain
Explain primary consumer
Organism at the second trophic level
Eats producers for energy
Explain predator
A consumer that hints and kills other consumers
Explain prey
Animals that are hunted and killed by predators
Explain scavenger
Consumers that eat other, already dead, consumers
Different than decomposers
Explain decomposer
Organisms that break down dead, decaying organisms
Bacteria, slime miles, and fungi are good examples of decomposers
Most are saprophytes. Meaning they grow on their food
Why do food chains have only three or four trophic levels
A limit to the available amount of energy
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed or transferred
For example, radiant sun energy is transformed to chemical energy by plants
Every time energy is transferred, some is unusable (mostly lost as heat)
The most usable energy received is used up just for survival (breathing, movement, growing, etc.)
Thus, amount of energy at each trophic level is LESS
The amount of available energy decreases going down the food chain
Explain natality (births)
Total number of births in a population over a period of time
Explain mortality (deaths)
Total number of deaths in a population over a period of time
Explain immigration
Total number of individuals moved into a population over a period of time
