APES Ch 3

A greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere through transpiration or evaporation A. Water (H2O) B. Phosphate (PO43-) C. Methane (CH4) D. Nitrogen gas (N2) E. Oxygen gas (O2)

A

What is soil?

A mixture of rock pieces and particles, mineral nutrients, decaying organic matter, water, air, and living organisms

What is aerobic respiration?

Uses energy to convert glucose back into CO2 and water

What are consumers?

(Also called heterotrophs) Organisms that cannot produce their own food. Primary consumers eat mostly green plants and carnivores eat the flesh of other animals. Secondary consumers eat herbivores and tertiary consumers eat herbivores and other carnivores

What are three harmful effects of the clearing and degradation of tropical rainforests?

1. Clearing these forests reduces Earth's natural biodiversity by destroying the habitats of many of Earth's species. 2. Destroying these forests contributes to atmospheric warming and speeds up climate change (Because eliminating large areas of trees faster than they can grow back decreases the ability of the forests to remove some of the human-generated emmisions of carbon dioxide (CO2)) 3. Large-scale loss of tropical rainforests can change regional weather and climate patterns. Sometimes such changes can prevent the regrowth of rain forests in cleared or degraded areas. When this ecological tipping point is reached, tropical rainforests in such areas become less diverse tropical grasslands.

What three factors sustain life on Earth? (Concept 3.1B)

1. One-way flow of high quality energy from the sun. The sun's energy supports plant growth, which provides energy for plants and animals, in keeping with the solar energy principle of sustainability. 2. Cycling of nutrients through parts of the biosphere. Nutrients are chemicals that organisms need to survive. Because the Earth does not get significant inputs of matter from space, its fixed supply of nutrients must be recycled to support life. This is in keeping with the chemical principle of sustainability. 3. Gravity allows the planet to hold on to its atmosphere and enables the movement and cycling of chemicals through air, soil, and organisms.

When energy is transferred from one trophic level to another, how much on average is transferred?

10 percent (According to 10 percent rule)

A tipping point in the disappearance of tropical rainforests is: A. the loss of habitat for endangered species after forests are cleared B. the change in regional weather patterns after clearing the forests, which prevents their return C. the loss of trees, causing less carbon dioxide to be absorbed from the atmosphere D. the clearing of land for a new road to be built through the rainforest E. the clearing of rainforests for agricultural land, which adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere

B

The natural greenhouse effect A. defies the laws of thermodynamics B. heats gases in the troposphere that warm the planet C. converts infrared energy into light energy D. recycles energy from the sun E. shortens the wavelengths of incoming light energy

B

Which of the following is NOT an important ecological role of insects? A. Eating insect pests that might harm other insects B. Transmitting tropical disease to humans who visit locations between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn C. Fertilizing the soil with nutrients from their waste material D. Providing a nutritious food source for other insects and for animals such as bats or frogs E. Pollinating almond and fruit trees in California so farmers do not have to do it

B

A limiting factor for most plant growth in lakes and terrestrial systems A. Water (H2O) B. Methane (CH4) C. Phosphate (PO43-) D. Nitrogen gas (N2) E. Oxygen gas (O2)

C

Can be stored in marine sediment for long periods of time A. Methane (CH4) B. Water (H2O) C. Phosphate (PO43-) D. Oxygen gas (O2) E. Nitrogen gas (N2)

C

All species interacting with each other and their nonliving environment is called a(n) A. biosphere B. community C. population D. ecosystem E. habitat

D

A greenhouse gas produced by raising cattle A. Nitrogen gas (N2) B. Water (H20) C. Phosphate (PO43-) D. Oxygen gas (O2) E. Methane (CH4)

E

Life on earth depends on three interconnected factors. Which of the following are involved in sustaining life on earth? i. flow of high-quality energy ii. cycling of matter and nutrients iii. gravity A. i only B. ii only C. i and ii only D. i and iii only E. i, ii, and iii

E

The BEST example of a population is A. the movement of nitrogen from a terrestrial system from the atmosphere B. a community of different species acting with each other in their nonliving environment C. rabbits upon whom bobcats prey D. groups of different species living in a specific place and potentially interacting with eachother E. a group of cats known as Felis concolor living and interbreeding in one area at the same time

E

Where is most of Earth's freshwater stored?

Icecaps and glaciers

What are producers?

Organisms, such as green plants, that make the nutrients they need from compounds and energy obtained from their environment. (Also called autotrophs)

Definition of ecology

The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.

Net primary productivity

The rate at which producers use photosynthesis to produce and store chemical energy minus the rate at which they use some of this stored chemical energy through anaerobic respiration

What is the importance of microbes?

They break down the food we eat, prevent harmful bacteria from reaching our lungs, and decompose organic waste into nutrients. Phytoplankton in the ocean also produces most of the world's oxygen