Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
131 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Ecology is made up of |
many sciences |
|
The basic framework for the life houses is composed of |
plants |
|
The process of decomposition releases into the environment _____ and ______ |
nitrogen and carbon |
|
The word ecology comes from Greek words meaning |
Study of houses |
|
What are the 6 basic parts of the ecosystem in proper order? |
Sun, climate, green plants, herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers |
|
How are ecological relationships important to life? |
Relationships are the basis of life. The relationship of a wolf to a deer is predator to prey, for example. |
|
List 5 principles of ecology that use the ecosystem concept |
living things affect other living things, basic relationships exist between organisms and their environment, both the living and nonliving are connected, cycles of nature illustrate order in the universe, and all energy and materials for life originate in nonliving environment |
|
A habitat is best described as |
the best place where organisms live |
|
Some environmental factors are studied by the use of |
space satellites |
|
A habitat that has less oxygen and less air pressure than many oxygens require would be |
high mountaintop |
|
The _______ is longer at the equator than at other places on the earth |
growing season |
|
List 8 important environmental factors that affect a habitat |
light, water, elevation, surface features, temperature, gases, minerals, and growing seasons |
|
All forms of life on earth are linked together in relationships involving ____ |
food |
|
Light energy from the sun takes about _______ to travel from the sun to the earth |
8 minutes and 20 seconds |
|
The energy in food first comes from ______ |
the sun |
|
The process in which green plants trap light energy to produce food is _____ |
photosynthesis |
|
"For by Him were all things created" refers to the person of |
God |
|
The green chemical that traps light in plants is |
chlorophyll |
|
The first link in any food chain is always a ___ |
plant |
|
The most important food-producing green plants of the ocean are _____ |
plankton |
|
List some differences between land and aquatic food chains |
Aquatic food chains are much less complex. The food chain for a whale and it's food is only composed of 2 links while the food chain of a bear is composed of many links |
|
Ecology is concerned with __ |
relationships |
|
Good management practices are based on ____, ____, and ____ |
biology, ecology, and environment |
|
What is dynamic equilibrium? |
It's a state of change that can result in everything being balanced or equal |
|
Phytoplankton |
grass of the seas |
|
relationships |
dependent, competitive |
|
ecosystem |
cycle |
|
environment |
surroundings |
|
balance of nature |
dynamic equilibrium |
|
Organisms with _____ usually share environmental factors |
similiar requirements |
|
Organisms with similar requirements usually share _____ |
environmental factors |
|
The balance of nature is like a |
living seesaw |
|
What is removed must be ___ |
replaced |
|
Habitats vary because |
environmental factors vary |
|
The word ecology is made up of 2 Greek words meaning ____ and ____ |
house and knowledge |
|
Common needs, mutual benefit, and interactions are all examples of ____ |
relationships |
|
All relationships of living things to each other and to their environment added together form |
ecosystems |
|
The sun's energy is trapped by a chemical, ___ |
chlorophyll |
|
The last 3 parts of an ecosystem in order are ____, ____, and _____ |
herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers |
|
When a living system cannot adjust to environmental changes, it begins to ___ |
die |
|
Good management duplicates |
natural processes |
|
Good management decisions are based on ____, not on ____ |
life study and politics |
|
Environmental factors may be studied by using space ____ |
satellites |
|
A scientist who studies ecology is termed an |
ecologist |
|
habitat |
place |
|
decomposer |
bacteria |
|
resource |
used to aid or assist |
|
organism |
living plant or animal |
|
Explain what is meant by relationships in ecology |
Relationships in ecology are the way things depend on each other. For example, the relationship of a wolf to a doe is predator to prey |
|
Name 5 environmental factors |
light, water, temperature, elevation, and surface features |
|
Maps that show differences in temperature, rainfall, and weather are called ____ |
climate maps |
|
A biome is a |
life zone |
|
Maps that show differences in plant life are called |
vegetation maps |
|
Biomes on land are usually named for the main types of ____ growing in them |
plants |
|
The first link in the food chain is always a |
plant |
|
How does elevation affect biomes? |
It can affect them greatly because elevation affects the weather and the weather can determine whether or not the biome is a tundra, for example, or a grass land
|
|
Ecologists use a square sampling plot called a |
quadrat |
|
A sampling method that involves a long, narrow information unit is a |
transect |
|
What is the advantage in using the quadrat sampling method? |
saves time |
|
In what kind of community would you have difficulty doing a quadrat or transect study? |
underwater community |
|
What does the term inventory mean to an ecologist? |
To count the amount of living things in a habitat and to monitor changes |
|
What does an ecologist do? |
Studies the environment and helps to keep the balance in nature |
|
many sciences |
ecology |
|
community |
a group of living things that live in the same place |
|
how living things depend on each other and their environment |
relationships |
|
average weather for a place |
climate |
|
vegetation |
plants |
|
The biome with many thorny bushes and dense thickets is the |
chaparral |
|
3 building blocks of habitats are ____, ____, and ____ |
light, water, and temperature |
|
3 kinds of ecologist's tools you learned about are ___, ____, ____ |
quadrats, transects, and inventories |
|
An animal that eats the flesh of other animals is said to be |
carnivorous |
|
The place where an organism lives is its |
habitat |
|
A life zone is called a |
biome |
|
All of the animals that once lived on earth, but do not live here any more, are referred to as ___ |
extinct |
|
An animal that eats plants is said to be |
herbivorous |
|
The most important, food-producing plants of the ocean are |
phytoplankton |
|
A bird that is an endangered species is |
whooping crane |
|
List the steps of the ecosystem in the correct order |
sun, climate, green plants, herbivores, carnivores, and decomposers |
|
the problem with the ecosystem |
slow to repair |
|
the problem if green plants die out |
ecosystem breakdown |
|
a problem with recycling |
some plastics and metals |
|
a problem with many new products |
disposable "throw a ways" |
|
a problem with raw materials |
using them rapidly |
|
recycling that solves a problem |
newspapers, glass, aluminum can be |
|
air pollution |
ozone, smog, carbon monoxide, pollution poisons, fuel-burning power plants, PAN, breathing problems, lumber industries |
|
water pollution |
fertilizer, oil spills, seafood contamination, mining industries, pollution poisons, fuel-burning power plants, lumber industries, plastics, waste chemicals dumped |
|
soil pollution |
fertilizer, mining industries, pollution poisons, lumber industries, plastics, waste chemicals dumped |
|
List 4 substances found in smog |
nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, ozone, and PAN (peroxyacytyl nitrate) |
|
recycle |
solution to pollution |
|
carbon monoxide |
air pollutant |
|
toxic substances |
poison |
|
biodegradable |
can be decomposed |
|
2 main sources of pollution are ____ and ____ |
nature and people |
|
Pollution means |
the act of contamination |
|
2 kinds of maps ecologists use are ____ and ____ |
climate and vegetation |
|
the largest amount of smog is made up of the pollutant |
carbon monoxide |
|
Smog that we see is made up of the pollutants such as |
soot |
|
2 examples of biomes are ___ and ___ |
chaparral and tundra |
|
2 examples of water pollution are ____ and ____ |
oil spills and trash dumped in water |
|
2 examples of environmental factors are |
light and water |
|
All life on earth exists within a layer of water, air, and soil called the |
biosphere |
|
2 solutions to problems of pollution are |
recycling and better management |
|
soot causes |
block vision, lung disease |
|
carbon monoxide causes |
dizziness, headache, sick feeling, heavy amount fatal |
|
hydrocarbons causes |
slow plant growth, cause abnormal leaves, cause cancer |
|
ozone causes |
burns eyes, discolor on upper leaf surface, ruins cloth and rubber |
|
PAN causes |
burns eyes, discolor on lower leaf surface |
|
light bulb |
light energy |
|
water turning turbine |
mechanical energy |
|
stored energy |
potential energy |
|
burning wood |
heat energy |
|
active energy |
kinetic energy |
|
within an atom |
nuclear energy |
|
What is meant by "energy problems"? |
Energy problems are the problems that result from using too much fuel or polluting the air so badly that loves are being left |
|
Could solutions to energy problems cause new problems that need to be solved? |
yes |
|
geyser |
geothermal energy |
|
splitting the atom |
nuclear energy |
|
radios, irons |
electrical energy |
|
fireflies |
light energy |
|
water turning turbines |
mechanical energy |
|
food |
chemical energy |
|
Environmental factors operate ___ |
together |
|
Any substance that can be decomposed by bacterial action is referred to as |
a decomposer |
|
Energy problems basically fall into 2 categories: |
fuel problems and pollution resulting from fuel |
|
An energy source that produces electricity by chemically combining gases or liquids into fuel is |
fuel cells |
|
Some energy sources considered fuels of the future are ____ and ____ |
fuel cells and solar power |
|
The Dutch people have been using a clean energy source for years called |
Dutch windmills |
|
One important problem with this Dutch clean energy source for worldwide use is |
the fact that it's not windy everywhere |
|
The 2 basic kinds of energy are ___ and ___ |
kinetic and potential |
|
energy means |
the ability to do work |
|
What are 4 promising new energy sources? |
fuel cells, solar power, garbage burning for fuel, and tidal power |