Daily Question
9/26/12
The more energy moves through a system, the
more _____ it becomes.
Ecology Notes
Ecology is the study of the complex
relationships between living things and their
nonliving environment.
A community of organisms and the abiotic
environment that the organisms inhabit is
called an ecosystem.
An ecosystem may be as large as an ocean or
as small as a drop of water.
The largest ecosystem is the entire biosphere.
Most of Earth’s ecosystems contain a variety
of plants and animals.
Plants are important parts of ecosystems
because they use energy from the sun to
produce their own food.
What is this
process
known as?
Organisms that make their own food are
called producers.
Producers include most plants and some
bacteria.
Consumers are organisms that get their
energy by eating other organisms.
Consumers may eat producers or other
consumers.
However, some consumers get their energy
by breaking down dead organisms, these
consumers are known as decomposers.
In order for an ecosystem to remain healthy
and stable it must have a balance of
producers, consumers, and decomposers.
Ecosystems have a limited amount of energy
in them.
Think of your refrigerator at home.
If you have
enough food to
last your family
for an entire
week, but
someone eats all
of it the first day.
What’s going to
happen?
The largest population that an environment
can support at any given time is called the
carrying capacity.
The carrying capacity depends on the
available resources for that environment.
If every student in
this room gets one
hamburger. Do I
have enough?
What does that
tell you about the
carrying capacity
of this room?
A given ecosystem can support only the
number of organisms that allows matter and
energy to be transferred efficiently through
the ecosystem.
One change in any part of an ecosystem may
affect the entire system.
What affects may a forest fire have on an
ecosystem? Other than burning “stuff.”
After certain disasters, organisms will
naturally migrate back into an area in
predictable patterns.
As energy moves through an ecosystem it is
lost the more it travels.
The further up
you move, the
less energy
there is
available.
The sequence in which organisms consume
other organisms can be represented by a food
chain.
A food web, is used to represent the
relationship between multiple food chains.
Human beings have a tendency to alter most
ecosystems to better fit their needs or wants.
When humans convert large natural areas
into inhabitable environments for them, most
of those ecosystems are destroyed.
Removal of topsoil & runoff pollution.
Bonus Questions
Raise your hand if you think you know the
answer.
Review Questions
Bonus Points
An organized group of related objects or
components that interact to create a whole
is a _____.
system
_____ is anything that has mass &
takes up space.
Matter
Energy is the ability to do work or
_____.
Cause change
The operation of Earth’s system is a result
of interaction between the 2 most basic
components of the universe: _____.
Matter and energy
Energy can be transformed in a variety
of forms, list all 4.
Heat
Energy
Light
Electromagnetic Waves
When energy is transferred, there is usually
a change in the _____ or _____ properties
of the matter.
Chemical or Physical
A system in which energy, but not matter, is
exchanged with the surroundings is a
_____ system.
Closed
An _____ is a system in which both energy
and matter are exchanged with the
surroundings.
Open
What are Earth’s 4 spheres?
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Hydrosphere
Geosphere
The blanket of gases that surrounds
Earth’s surface is called the _____.
Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere is made up of 78%
nitrogen and _____% oxygen
21
_____% of Earth’s water is saturated
with salt.
97
The _____ includes all the rock and soil on
the surface of the continents and the
ocean floor.
Geosphere
Once organic matter _____ it becomes
a part of the other 3 spheres.
Decomposes
1st Law of Thermodynamics Energy is
transferred between systems, but cannot
be _____ or _____.
Created or destroyed
2nd Law of Thermodynamics When energy
transfer takes place; matter becomes less
_____ with time.
Organized
The heat in Earth’s interior cause’s material
to rise toward the surface, as the material
cools; it becomes denser and begins to sink
back into the interior. This is known as a
_____ current.
Convection
Solar _____ causes air masses to move,
which generate winds & ocean currents.
Radiation
Plants use energy from the sun to
perform _____.
Photosynthesis
The _____ reactions that break rock
down into soil require solar energy.
Chemical
The pull of the sun and the moon on the
oceans, combined with Earth’s rotation,
generates _____.
Tides
_____ is used by organisms to build
protein, which is used to build cells.
Nitrogen
Most organisms cannot use _____
nitrogen; the nitrogen must be fixed,
before it can be used.
Atmospheric
Nitrogen is removed from the air by
_____ that live in the soil.
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
Carbon moves through all 4 spheres in
a process called the _____.
Carbon Cycle
Phosphorus enters soil & water when rock
_____ & when phosphorus dissolves in
water.
Breaks down
Carbon is stored in the geosphere in buried
plant or animal remains and in a type of
rock called _____.
Carbonate
Plants convert carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere into _____.
Carbohydrates
List the 3 main stages of the water
cycle.
Condensation
Precipitation
Evaporation
What are the 2 types of carbon cycle
known as?
Short and Long Term
Describe the size and shape of Earth.
Earth is an oblate, or slightly flattened spheroid.
Describe 2 characteristics that make
Earth unique in our solar system.
Earth is covered in mostly water.
Earth has a thick atmosphere containing high
amounts of oxygen.
Earth has known living organisms.
How do scientists learn about Earth’s
interior?
Scientists observe how seismic waves travel through
Earth’s interior to determine the physical states of
Earth’s deeper regions.
What is a possible source of Earth’s
magnetic energy?
The motion of the liquid iron of Earth’s outer core
may produce electric currents, which generate Earth’s
magnetic field.
How does the asthenosphere differ
from the mesosphere?
The asthenosphere is solid rock that is able to flow
because of its plasticity.
The mesosphere is solid rock that remains rigid and
doesn’t flow.
Explain how the Earth can be
considered a system.
Because it consists of many interacting components.
Compare an open system and a closed
system.
In an open system, matter and energy are added and
removed.
In a closed system, only energy enters or leaves.
How do scientists learn about Earth’s
interior?
Scientists observe how seismic waves travel through
Earth’s interior to determine the physical states of
Earth’s deeper regions.
Name the two main sources of Earth’s
energy.
The sun and Earth’s interior.
What affect, if any, would you expect a
massive forest fire to have on the amount
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Explain.
It would add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere,
because when organisms such as trees burn, CO2, is
released.
Earth has been hit by meteorites in the
past. Is Earth an open or closed system,
explain.
Open, because matter and energy are being
exchanged.
Define ecosystem.
A community of organisms and the environment that
the organisms inhabit.
Identify 3 factors that control the
balance of an ecosystem.
How matter and energy cycle through the ecosystem
How ecosystems respond to change
How organisms in the ecosystem interact
Describe one way that ecosystems
respond to environmental change.
Ecosystems generally respond to change in a way that
restores balance within the ecosystem.
Compare a food chain with a food web.
A food chain is a sequence in which an organism is
consumed by another organism.
In a food web, several organisms feed upon one type
of organism, which are consumed by still other
organisms that compete with each other.