Midterm Review 2013
1. Define ecology.
2. Define the levels of ecological organization from largest to smallest: biosphere, biome,
ecosystem, community, population, organism
3. Identify the three components of the atmosphere
1)
2)
3)
4. Distinguish between biotic and abiotic factors
Biotic –
Abiotic –
5. Define ozone and describe the effect of its changes on life on earth.
6. Define albedo and describe its ecological role.
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7. State the first Law of Thermodynamics and define biogeochemical cycle.
First Law of Thermodynamics-
Biogeochemical Cycle-
8. Describe the water cycle including the following concepts: precipitation, evaporation,
condensation, cellular respiration and transpiration.
9. Describe acid rain and its effects on the biosphere.
10. Describe the carbon cycle including the roles of photosynthesis, respiration,
decomposition, combustion and fossil fuels.
11. Describe the greenhouse effect and its role in global warming.
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12. Describe the nitrogen cycle including the following components: nitrification,
nitrogen fixation and denitrification.
13. Define sedimentary. Outline the phosphorus cycle.
14. Define species.
15. Distinguish between the habitat and the niche of an organism.
16. Define autotroph, producer, heterotroph, consumer, chemosynthesis, decomposers,
detrivore, scavengers
Autotroph-
Heterotroph-
Consumer-
Chemosynthesis-
Decomposers-
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Scavengers-
17. Identify the pattern of energy flow in ecosystems.
18. Define food chain, food web.
Food chain-
Food Web-
19. Define trophic level.
20. Describe and give examples of the following trophic levels: producers (autotrophs),
consumers (heterotrophs), and decomposers
21. State the second Law of Thermodynamics.
22. Identify factors that cause a decrease in energy transfer from one trophic level to the
next.
23. Draw ecological pyramids and identify a 10% energy transfer in each level.
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24. Identify three ecological pyramids and give characteristics of each.
1)
2)
3)
25. Define biological amplification and the impact on organisms of different species.
26. Describe the concept of evolution.
27. Differentiate between direct and indirect evidence for evolution.
28. Define fossil
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29. Define: embryology, homologous structures, analogous structures, divergent and
convergent evolution, physiological evidence, biochemical evidence.
Embryology-
homologous structures-
analogous structures-
divergent evolution-
convergent evolution-
biochemical evidence-
30. List the five distinct ideas of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Describe each idea.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
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31. Describe Lamark’s beliefs of evolution.
Theory of Use and Disuse –
Theory of Acquired Traits -
32. Identify the type of energy used by most metabolic processes and how that energy is derived.
List three uses of this type of energy by the cell or by the organism.
33. Define photosynthesis.
34. State the name and give the role of pigments in photosynthesis.
35. Write the chemical reaction that summarizes photosynthesis.
36. Identify the reactants and products of photosynthesis.
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37. Write the chemical reaction that summarizes cellular respiration.
38. Identify the reactants and products of cellular respiration.
39. Compare the chemical reactions of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Classify one
reaction as storing energy and one reaction as releasing energy.
40. Identify the separate reactions in photosynthesis. List the location in the chloroplast where
these reactions occur.
41. List the reactants and the products of the light and the dark dependent reactions
42. Identify the reactants and the products of glycolysis. State where in the cell this reaction
takes place.
43. Compare and contrast aerobic and anaerobic respiration in terms of the requirements
and their products.
44. Differentiate between alcohol fermentation and lactic acid fermentation.
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45. Compare the productivity rates in the tundra, grassland, deciduous forest and taiga.
Relate these differences to the abiotic factors in each.
46. How do the main producers in each biome contribute to the types of animals seen
there?
48. Compare the abiotic characteristics of the three lake zones. How do these affect
productivity?
49. How does fertilizer runoff and pollution affect lakes over time?
50. Define ecotone.
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