Topic 4 Flashcards
(28 cards)
What is a population?
All the individuals of one species in a particular area at the same time.
What is a community?
All the populations of different species living in a habitat.
What is a habitat?
The environment where an organism lives.
What is an ecosystem?
A community and its environment functioning together as a system.
Name two types of factors that affect population size and distribution.
Abiotic factors (non-living) and biotic factors (living).
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food through photosynthesis.
What is a primary consumer?
An organism that eats producers.
What is a secondary consumer?
An organism that eats primary consumers.
What is a tertiary consumer?
An organism that eats secondary consumers.
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead organisms and recycles nutrients.
What is a food chain?
A sequence that shows how energy is transferred from one organism to another.
What is a food web?
A network of interconnected food chains showing feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
What is a pyramid of number?
A diagram that shows the number of organisms at each trophic level.
What is a pyramid of biomass?
A diagram that shows the total mass of organisms at each trophic level.
What is a pyramid of energy transfer?
A diagram showing the amount of energy transferred at each trophic level.
How is energy lost between trophic levels?
Through respiration, excretion, movement, and undigested food.
Approximately what percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
About 10%.
What are the four main stages in the carbon cycle?
Photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and combustion.
What are the biological consequences of air pollution by sulfur dioxide?
Causes acid rain which damages plants and aquatic life.
What are the biological consequences of air pollution by carbon monoxide?
Reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.
Name five greenhouse gases.
Water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, CFCs.
How does human activity increase carbon dioxide levels?
Burning fossil fuels and deforestation.
How does human activity increase methane levels?
Rice farming, cattle farming, and landfill sites.
What is the enhanced greenhouse effect?
Increased trapping of heat in the Earth’s atmosphere due to excess greenhouse gases.
