Unit 5 – Study Guide KEY
The Biosphere
Vocabulary
• Know the following words:
population
community
biotic
ecosystem
carrying capacity
niche
abiotic
biodiversity
ecology
2. What are the two factors that affect a
biome’s climate?
Temperature and precipitation
3. Why is the role of predators important?
predators limit the populations of their prey
4. Competition is usually most intense between
which organisms?
organisms of the same species
5. What are examples of different types of
competition?
Over food/water resources, mates, living space
6. What methods are used to measure
populations?
track-mark-release = good for tracking
migration patterns
sample count = good when measuring very large
populations over a large area
7. What are the elements that affect population
size?
Biotic potential, movement of individuals in/out
of an area, birth and death rates
8. What is the ultimate source of energy that
fuels life on Earth?
the SUN
9. What are the different classifications of
organisms in an energy triangle? Be able to give
an example of each.
Producer = plants
Primary consumer (herbivore) = rabbit
Secondary consumer (carnivore) = snake
Tertiary consumer (omnivore) = raccoon
10. What are the different types of symbiotic
relationships?
mutualism, commensalism, parasitism
11. What is cooperative action in a species? Give
examples.
species work together; ants doing specific jobs,
schools of fish swimming together, meerkats
warning each other of danger
12. Know what the graphs that represent
exponential growth and carrying capacity look like.
• 13. Know the characteristics of the following
biomes:
tundra
desert
temperate deciduous forest
flowing aquatic
tropical rainforest
14. List some of the invasive species in North
Carolina.
kudzu, slippery elm, zebra mussels
15. Why is biodiversity important?
habitats with little biodiversity eventually crash
and die out
16. How do humans impact the biosphere?
deforestation, development, agriculture, mining,
energy production (dams, etc.)
• 17. Know how to read and use the food web
represented below.