Ap environ. ch 3/4 test

The parts of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere where life is found.

Biosphere

-Producers, consumers, decomposers -Plants, animals, bacteria/fungi

Biotic Components

This rate of reaction can be measured in the dark by determining the amount of oxygen gas consumed in a period of time.

Cellular respiration

Hydrosphere

Earth's liquid water, frozen water, and water in the atmosphere

_________ are by far the most productive aquatic ecosystem when measured as average net primary productivity per square meter per year.

Estuaries

-11 to 30 miles -Ozone layer

Stratosphere

Which of the following describes the most likely change to terrestrial biomes resulting from warmer average global temperatures?

The global distribution of midlatitude biomes, such as grasslands and temperate rain forests, would increase.

Which of the following statements is best supported by the diagram of the phosphorus cycle?

The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually return to the soil.

Farmers in a suburban coastal town started using no-till agriculture, a practice that reduces soil erosion from their farmland. Use the image above to determine which of the following long-term effects no-till agriculture will have on the ecosystem surrounding the farmland.

There will be less algal growth in the nearby ocean.

-To 11 miles -Air is here

Troposphere

Which box represents a carbon sink that holds carbon compounds for the shortest period of time?

Vegetation

Which of the following best describes a terrestrial ecosystem that will have the highest net primary productivity?

Warm temperatures, high rainfall, and consistent sunlight

Based on the diagram, which of the following statements about the hydrologic cycle is true?

Water from the ocean evaporates and condenses in the atmosphere.

The rate at which an ecosystem's producers convert solar energy into chemical energy as biomass is called________.

gross primary productivity

organisms that cannot produce their own food and, therefore, must eat other organisms are called________.

heterotrophs

The rotten-egg smell coming from volcanoes and anaerobic decomposition in bogs and swamps comes from the gas_______.

hydrogen sulfide

natural selection

individuals with certain traits are more likely to survive and reproduce under a specific set of environmental conditions than are those without the traits

biomes

large regions such as forests, deserts, and grasslands with distinct climates and certain species adapted to them.

types of symbiosis?

mutualism, parasitism, commensalism

t/f-nutrient cycles connect past, present, and future forms of life

true

t/f-over land most water that reaches the atmosphere comes from transpiration

true

t/f-part of the solar energy striking the earth generates winds.

true

t/f-since 1950 human activities have more than doubled the annual release of nitrogen into the environment.

true

t/f-the hydrologic cycle is a way nature renews water quality.

true

t/f-the larger the number of trophic levels in a food chain or web, the greater the accumulated loss of energy.

true

t/f-the reason we observe a ''pyramid'' of energy flow instead of an energy flow ''cube'' is because the low ecological efficiency of biological systems limits the numbers of organisms in the higher trophic levels.

true

Based on the second law of thermodynamics, how much biomass of phytoplankton would be needed to produce 1 kilogram (kg) of large fish in this food web?

1,000kg

What are the four major components of the earth's life support systems?

1-atmosphere (air) 2-hydrosphere (water) 3-geosphere (rock, soil, sediment) 4-biosphere (living things)

Although tropical rain forests are only ___of the earth's land surface, they contain up to half of the earth's land plants and animal species

2%

A temperate grassland biome has a gross primary productivity of 3,480kilocalories/meter2/year and a net primary productivity of 2,000kilocalories/meter2/year. Which of the following is the approximate number of kilocalories/meter2/year available to herbivores in that biome?

200kilocalories/meter2/year

The oceans, which cover about 71% of the globe, contain about ______ of the earth's water.

97%

-Water, air, temperature, soil, light levels, precipitation, salinity -Sets tolerance limits for populations and communities

Abiotic Components

This biome is found in shallow waters off the coastline and is Earth's most biologically diverse marine biome.

Coral reefs

Which of the following best describes the flow of energy in most terrestrial and near-surface marine ecosystems?

Decomposers break down dead or decaying organisms to release energy and nutrients to be used by producers.

A sequence of organisms, each of which serves as a source of food or energy for the next, is called a __________.

Food Chain

Causes downward movement of matter

Gravity

Which trophic level has the least available energy in kilojoules in this food web?

Killer Whale

Which of the following best describes what is represented by the arrows in the food web?

The flow of energy

Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest net primary productivity?

Tropical rain forest

species

a set of fertile individuals that can mate and produce offspring

atmosphere

a thin spherical envelope of gases surrounding the earth's surface

Ecosystems

an inhabitant of the earth

Adaptation

any heritable trait that increases an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its environment

artificial selection

changing the genetic characteristics of populations with similar genes

organisms that convert simple inorganic compounds into nutrients, without sunlight, are called_______ organisms.

chemosynthesizing

The study of connections in nature is ____.

ecology

decomposers are mainly bacteria and________.

fungi

greenhouse gases

gases in the earth's lower atmosphere that cause the greenhouse effect.

four major concepts of biodiversity?

genes, species, ecosystems, ecosystem processes

fossil

mineralized or petrified replicas of skeletons, bones, teeth, shells, leaves, or seeds, or impressions of such items found in rocks

geographic isolation

occurs when different groups of the same population of a species become physically isolated form one another for longs period

Carbon cycles through the biosphere and depends on the process of ______ and ________.

photosynthesis, aerobic respiration

a group of individuals of the same species living in the same place at the same time is a _________.

population

tropical rainforests may be prevented from returning to cleared areas if an irreversible_____ is reached.

tipping point

t/f-a larger number of humans could be supported on the earth if more of them consumed grains, vegetables, and fruit rather than eating meat.

true

t/f-agricultural runoffs containing phosphates cause huge blooms of algae in streams and lakes.

true

t/f-because carbon makes up such a small amount of the earth's atmosphere, even a small change, caused by nature or by humans, affects the earth's climate.

true

t/f-deep sea habitats are an exception to the first principle of sustainability, they use a non-solar source of energy.

true

what are two limits on natural selection?

-population already has the genetic trait for the adaptation -population is limited by its reproductive capacity

Theory of Evolution

All species are descended from earlier, common species. In other words, life comes from life.

Which of the following types of organisms are required to complete the nitrogen cycle, including the process of denitrification?

Bacteria

This biome contains a nutrient-rich environment created by falling leaves and trapped organic materials from the large trees, and it provides the ecosystem service of filtering pollutants from water.

Freshwater wetlands

Earth's intensely hot core, thick mantle composed of mostly rock, and thin outer crust that contains most of the earth's rock, soil, and sediment.

Geosphere

The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.

Gross primary productivity

Why are insects important?

Help control the populations of at least half the insects we call pests, renew soil, preserve natural capital

Solid, liquid, and gaseous water

Hydrosphere

Energy is transferred along food chains from one stage to the next. Which statement best explains how the energy is transferred?

If a primary producer stores 10,000kcal 10 , 000 kcal of energy, then a tertiary consumer will have 10kcal 10 kcal of energy available.

troposphere

Innermost layer of the atmosphere. It contains about 75% of the mass of earth's air and extends about 17 kilometers (11 miles) above sea level.

Aquatic/Marine factors

Light penetration Water clarity Water currents Dissolved nutrient concentrations Esp. N, P, Fe Dissolved Oxygen concentration Salinity

-Crust and upper mantle -Contains non-renewable res.

Lithosphere

Decomposers do what?

Matter recyclers... Release organic compounds into soil and water where they can be used by producers

The energy available to consumers determined by subtracting the energy used by plants from the total energy transformed by the process of photosynthesis.

Net Primary productivity

Which of the following processes is illustrated by the downward arrows from the atmosphere that show the conversion of nitrogen gas into usable forms available to producers?

Nitrogen Fixation

life on earth depends on three interconnected factors?

One-way flow of high quality energy from the sun, the cycling of nutrients, and gravity

Which of the following trophic levels represents a primary producer in an aquatic food chain?

Phytoplankton

This freshwater biome is characterized by fast-flowing water that can originate from underground springs or runoff, which carries sediment and organic material.

Rivers

The transition of a substance directly from the solid to the gas phase, without passing through the intermediate liquid phase.

Sublimination

Terrestrial factors?

Sunlight Temperature Precipitation Soil nutrients Fire frequency Wind Latitude Altitude

The majority of the nitrogen on Earth can be found in which of the following reservoirs?

The Atmosphere

Which of the following biogeochemical cycles includes the processes of buffering ocean pH and photosynthesis, as shown in the diagram?

The Carbon Cycle

Which of the following best identifies a key component of the hydrologic cycle that powers the movement of water and is missing from the diagram?

The Sun

Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest primary productivity per unit area?

Tropical rain forest

Some precipitation sinks through soil and permeable rock formations and into ____________________ where it is stored as ____________________.

aquifers, groundwater

the major reservoir for nitrogen is the _____.

atmosphere

nitrogen fixation is accomplished by specialized __________ in the soil and ________ in aquatic environments.

bacteria, blue-green algae

the destruction of tropical rainforests will help accelerate____.

climate change

_______ can help scientists understand large and very complex systems by allowing them to change variables and project possible changes.

computer modeling

differential reproduction

enables individuals with the trait to produce more surviving offspring than other members of the population produce

_____ from the sun is captured, converted into chemical energy, and stored as biomass in the tissues of the producer.

energy

T/F: All microbes cause disease.

false

T/f-greenhouse gases, including methane, Co2, and water vapor, make up about 30% of the earth's troposphere.

false

t/f-A ''tropic level'' refers to the ability of an organism to survive outside the optimum range in a range of tolerance.

false

t/f-autotroph is another word for a consumer in a trophic system.

false

t/f-because soil contains a sufficient amount of phosphorus, phosphorus is not usually a limiting plant nutrient.

false

t/f-ecologists do not make use of most new technologies, preferring to continue the ''muddy boots biology'' style of research.

false

t/f-gross primary productivity is the biomass produced by photosynthesis minus the rate at which biomass is used for aerobic respiration.

false

t/f-only about 14% of the tropical rainforests have been destroyed or disturbed at this point.

false

t/f-the ''greenhouse effect'' is a strictly artificial, human made phenomenon.

false

t/f-transfer of energy through food chains is very efficient, making a lot of energy available to organisms.

false

Which of the boxes represents a carbon source?

fossil fuels

reproductive isolation

mutation and change by natural selection operate independently in the gene pools of geographically isolated populations

Mutation

random changes in the dna molecules of a gene in any cell that can be inherited my offspring

Human activities are altering both the ____ of energy flow and the ___ of nutrients within the carbon cycle.

rate, cycling

stretches 17-50 kilometers (11-31 miles) above the earth's surface. It's lower portion holds enough ozone gas to filter out about 95% of the sun's harmful ultraviolet radiation.

stratosphere

Evolutionary biologists have attributed our success to three adaptations?

strong opposable thumbs, ability to walk upright, complex brain

genetic engineering

the alteration of an organism's genetic material by adding, deleting or changing segments of its DNA to produce desirable traits or to eliminate undesirable ones. It enables scientists to transfer genes between different species that would not be interbred in nature

biological evolution

the process whereby earth's life changes over time through changes in the genetic characteristics of populations

Ecologists assign every type of organism in an ecosystem to a feeding level or________.

trophic level

T/f-Although tropical rainforests are only about 2% of the earth's land surface, they contain at least 50% of the world's plant and animal species.

true

T/f-An ecosystem is defined as a community of different populations of species interacting with one another and their nonliving environment.

true

t/f-All life is based on the power of the sun.

true

t/f-In hundreds of years we have released large quantities of fossil fuels that took millions of years to form.

true

t/f-While the troposphere is 11 miles thick above sea level at the tropics, it is only four miles thick above the North and South poles.

true

t/f-destruction of the tropical rainforests will likely change regional weather patterns in ways that will prevent their return

true

t/f-if the earth were an apple, all life would be contained in the thickness of the skin.

true

t/f-most producers capture sunlight to produce energy-rich carbohydrates through photosynthesis.

true

t/f-nitrogen gas, the major component of the atmosphere, cannot be used directly by plants and animals.

true