EVS 195 Ch 3

When oxygen is available, bacteria may combine ammonia (NH3) with oxygen to form ______.

NO3- (nitrate), NO2- (nitrite), N20 (nitrous oxide), NO (nitric oxide)

Chesapeake Bay has been degraded mainly by what familiar elements?

Nitrogen and phosphorus

Water molecules are cohesive which is essential to life on earth because is _____

aids capillary actin and surface tension

Metabolism involves _____

all the energy and matter exchanges that occur within a living cell or organism

Nitrogen is important to living things because it is _____

an essential component of proteins, enzymes, DNA, and other organic compounds

What are the main sources of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in Chesapeake Bay?

atmospheric deposition from transport and industry, wastewater, and agriculture

define omnivore

both plant and animal matter

The process of photosynthesis _____

captures water and carbon dioxide to produce sugars and oxygen

In the process of photosynthesis, plants are able to take _____ out of the air and fix it into sugar molecules.

carbon

A food _______ is linked feeding series, and a food _____ is an interconnected arrangement of several predator and prey relations generally inhabiting the same ecosystem.

chain; web

Isotopes of oxygen, which differ in mass, are used to evaluate _____ in environmental science research.

climate history

In what form is carbon stored in rock layers in the earth?

coal

Atoms join to form ______, and a pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit is called a _______.

compounds; molecule

The complex community of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and other organisms that live in and on your body is a(n) _____

microbiome

A positively charged ion has one or more _____, making it a cation.

missing electrons

Which of the following statements is true regarding molecules and compounds?

molecules and compounds are both made of atoms

Define kinetic energy

movement of an organism

Differing numbers of which particle can make different isotopes of an elements?

neutrons

Carbon-based, or _____ compounds are the foundation of organisms.

organic

Chains and rings or carbon atoms form the skeletons of ______.

organic compounds

define decomposer

organic materials remnants

In general, an ecosystem includes ______

organisms and nonliving factors in their environment

An atom that has given up one or more electrons is said to be ________, and when an atom gains electrons it is said to be ______.

oxidized; reduced

The four elements that make up more than 96 percent of the mass of most living organisms are _______, ________, ________, and ________.

oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen

The ____ scale is used to represent hydrogen ion concentrations water, and differentiates acids and bases.

pH

Green plants, algae, and some bacteria capture solar radiation and convert it to organisms molecules in a process called ______

photosynthesis

In the carbon cycle, CO2 is taken in by plants though the process of

photosynthesis

In general, food ______ are more complex than food _______.

webs; chains

True or false: Phosphorus is an essential component of all cells.

True

Which of the following statements about energy are true?

- a mass can have a high heat content but a low temperature. - low-quality energy is not generally as easy to use a high-quality energy

Why do excessive nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay cause declining crab fisheries?

- algal growth is excessive - oxygen is depleted

The principle of conservation of matter state that matter _______.

- can be recycled - can be converted to different forms - cannot be destroyed or created under normal circumstances

Which of these accurately describe the degradation of energy as it is used?

- chemical energy in food is converted to heat energy - chemical energy in food is converted to kinetic energy in an animal

Which of the following are examples of important carbon sinks?

- expansive boreal forest - oceans

One unusual characteristic of water is its high specific heat, which means that water ________.

- has the ability to play an important role in moderating global temperatures - absorbs a great amount of heat before its temperature changes - changes temperature slowly

One unusual characteristic of water is its high specific heat, which means that water _______

- has the ability to play an important role in moderating global temperatures - absorbs a great amount of heat before its temperature changes - changes temperature slowly

Which of the following are among the unique characteristics of water?

- its expands when it freezes - it has a high heat of vaporization - it has a high specific heat

Phosphorus is an important matter of concern because ______

- most phosphorus in ecosystems comes from certain rocks and mineral sources that are in limited supply - phosphorus is a key nutrient - phosphorus can lead to environmental pollution

Which of the following are the four major categories of organic compounds in living things

- nucleic acids - carbohydrates - proteins - lipids

Which of the following are components of a cell?

- organelles - wall or membrane - nucleus

In a trophic pyramid, less energy is available at the top (top predators) as compared to the bottom (primary producers). Where does the energy go as it is used in the ecosystem?

- producers' high-quality chemical energy is transformed to lower-quality energy forms (heat) that dissipates to the environment as organisms move. - organisms in each trophic level live and grow, which requires energy's less energy is available to transfer up to the next level in the pyramid

Carbon is stored for very long periods of time in the ______

- shells and skeletons of marine organisms at the bottom of the ocean - form of coal and oil below the earth's surface

Which of these examples correctly describe energy quality as it relates to environmental science?

- solar and wind energy are diffuse and hard to use - the kinetic energy of wind is low-quality and hard to store efficiently

DNA is essential for _____

- storing and expressing genetic information - carrying information between cells, tissues, and organs

An element's atomic number involves the number of protons in an atom because ______

- the number of protons within an element does not vary - the number of neutrons can vary (producing different isotopes)

How does the sun support life on earth>

- the sun provides energy - the sun provides warmth

Since 1945, human inputs have led to more then double the amount of nitrogen in circulation. Select all the sources of the additional nitrogen.

-burning of fossil fuels in car engines and industrial furnaces - spread of nitrogen-fixing soybeans - synthetic ammonia fertilizers

We can characterize the hydraulic cycle in terms of a series of steps. Recreate this series with evaporation at the top followed by the next steps in the sequence.

1) evaporation 2) condensation 3) precipitation 4) runoff

Rank the following carbon cycle exchanges by placing the process that moves the most carbon at the top and the one that moves the least at the bottom.

1) photosynthesis by land plants 2) photosynthesis by marine plankton 3) burning of fossil fuels 4) land clearing, burning

Define Chemical energy

Bonds in a surge molecule

How much water is moved annually by precipitation over the land?

111,000km3

How much water is moved annually by evaporation from soil, streams, rivers, and lakes?

30,000km3

How much water is moved annually by precipitation over the ocean?

385,000km3

DNA is composed of varying arrangements of _____ different nucleotides.

4

How much water is moved annually by evaporation from the ocean?

425,000 km3

Define Potential energy

A boulder resting at the top of a hill

Which of the following is true about the phosphorus cycle?

Phosphorus has no gaseous phase, so it "cycles" extremely slowly

_____ is the amount of biomass (biological material) produced in a given area during a given period of time.

Productivity

define scavenger

dead carcasses

Water molecules being polar is essential toile on earth because it _______

dissolves substance easily

______ is the scientific study of the relationships between organism and their environment.

ecology

In a covalent bond, atoms share ______. In an ionic bond, ions are held together by the attraction of _______ electrical charges.

electrons; opposite

Matter consists of _____, which are substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical reactions.

elements

Calories and Joules are measurements of

energy

The sun supplies ______, which is important to living organisms because plants can capture it and convert it into a form accessible animals.

energy

The first law of thermodynamics states that _____

energy cannot be created or destroyed under normal conditions

Which statement best describes the way the quality of energy normally changes as it moves through a system?

energy degrades or dissipates

There are more rabbits than foxes in an ecosystem because ___

energy is degraded and dissipated within a trophic level and as it is transferred to successively higher trophic levels in the pyramid

_____ are molecular catalysts, regulating chemical reactions.

enzymes

_____ is the term we use to describe an organism that thrives in a variety of sever or harsh conditions.

extremophiles

An organism's trophic level relates to _____ in an ecosystem

feeding status

define carnivore

flesh only

Which organisms are primary producers

green plants and algae

The primary difference of the phosphorus cycle when compared to both the nitrogen and carbon cycles is that it ______

has no gaseous or atmospheric phase

Water remains liquid at a wide range of temperatures which is essential to life on earth because it _______

helps organisms to function in cool and warm conditions

Which organisms are consumers

herbivores and carnivores

Undersea explorations in the 1970s revealed chemosynthetic communities with organisms capable of using the chemical bonds between the inorganic elements of _____ to provide energy for synthesis of organic molecules.

hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen gas

Entropy tends to _____ over time in natural systems.

increase

Which of the following is not a human source of increased nitrogen in circulation?

increased lightening strikes

Atoms offer gain and lose electron, giving them a negative or positive electrical charge. These charged atoms are _____

ions

Why is it important that carbon and nitrogen be "fixed"?

it involves converting them from a gaseous state into forms that are useful to plants and other organisms

Our atmosphere plays a _____ part in the nitrogen cycle, as nitrogen gas (N2) makes up about ______ percent of our atmosphere.

key; 78

define detritivore

litter, debris, and dung

Heat stored in the ocean is of _______

low-quality because it is hard to capture and use

Define herbivore

plants only

A(n )______ is all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time, and a(n) _______ is all the populations living and interacting in a particular area.

population; biological community

Acids or bases can cause environmental problems because they _____.

react readily with living tissues

Cellular _____, which breaks down simple sugar molecules and produces CO2, is essentially the reverse of photosynthesis.

respiration

The ____ law of thermodynamics recognizes the entropy (disorder, or loss of energy or organization) tends to increase in nature.

second

In biology, the term species generally refers to al organisms ______

similar enough to produce fertile offspring in nature

Define bases

substances that readily bond with hydrogen ions in water

Define acids

substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water

An atom is the smallest particle ____

that exhibits characteristics of an element