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Definitions
Cycles
Food Webs
Pyramids
Human Impact
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FINAL JEOPARDY
Define abiotic characteristics
A: The non-living components of
an ecosystem
Define biomass
A: The total mass of all living
material in an ecosystem after
the water has been removed
Define dynamic equilibrium
A: any system in which changes
are continually occurring but
whose components can adjust to
the changes without disturbing
the entire system
Define denitrification
A: the process in which nitrates
are converted to nitrites and then
to nitrogen gas
Define the albedo effect
A: the extent to which a surface
can reflect light that strikes it
Explain the hydrological cycle
What are the 5 biochemical
cycles that help to maintain
balance of essential matter in the
biosphere?
1. Hydrological
2. Carbon
3. Oxygen
4. Nitrogen
5. Phosphorous
Explain why bacteria are so
important to the nitrogen cycle?
Bacteria are responsible to the
nitrification of NH3 (ammonia)
to create nitrates.
Bacteria are also responsible
for the nitrification of N2 into
nitrites and nitrates
Explain how the carbon cycle and
oxygen cycle are complementary.
Why is the phosphorous cycle
important?
Phosphorous is required in cell
membranes, DNA, bones or
organisms, and many other
things. If phosphorous did not
cycle, it would be detrimental to
life on Earth.
What is a food chain and how
does it differ from a food web?
A food chain shows the flow of
energy from one organism to
another.
A food web is many interconnected
food chains showing relationships
among organisms in an ecosystem
The organisms in the food chain
with the most energy available
are _________________ while
those with the least energy
available are ______________.
A: Producers, Tertiary consumers
Explain the order of organisms in
a food web
Producers  primary consumers
 secondary consumers 
tertiary consumers
Explain why energy is lost at
each trophic level
Producers use energy from the sun to
create their own food. The energy
they get from the food goes to
maintaining their own life processes.
A fraction of energy is passed to the
next level organism which again uses
this energy for its life processes
making the energy available for the
next organism even less. By the time
the top is reached, barely any of the
original energy is left.
Explain the following terms:
Heterotroph, autotroph,
chemoautotroph
Heterotroph: must feed on other
organisms to gain energy
Autotroph: an organism that uses
the Sun’s energy to create its own
food
Chemoautotroph: a nonphotosynthetic organism that
converts inorganic chemicals to
organic compounds without solar
energy
What are three types of
ecological pyramids?
Number
Biomass
Energy
Explain what goes into a pyramid
of numbers
A pyramid of numbers shows the
number of organisms found at
each trophic level
What is a pyramid of biomass?
Pyramid showing the total dry
mass of all the living material at
each trophic level in an
ecosystem.
Why are ecological models like
this used/created?
To show relationships within an
ecosystem and to show us how
living things function
Explain the following pyramids:
The bottom pyramid is showing a
pyramid of number where the
primary consumers are insects
which greatly outnumber the
producers.
How are humans involved in the
disappearance of frogs?
Humans are taking over the habitats
of the frogs as well as causing
pollution to both the air and the
ecosystems. The air pollution is
leading to climate change which is also
affecting the frogs
How do humans impact the
hydrological cycle?
Pollution from factories and from the
burning of fossil fuels leads to increased
levels of sulfur dioxides and nitrous
oxides into the atmosphere which can
combine with water molecules creating
acid rain
How have human affected the
carbon cycle?
Humans have made changes to
the amounts of carbon in the
carbon cycle with the burning of
fossil fuels, clear cutting of trees,
and unearthing carbon containing
sediments
How do humans impact the
nitrogen cycle?
Humans have impacted this system
with the introduction of synthetic
fertilizers. This can lead to a build up of
certain producers that can skew the
balance of particular food webs which
leads to a disruption in the equilibrium
of that ecosystem.
Why are all of the cycles
important to life on Earth?
If the compounds were not being
cycled the way they are, life
could not be sustained because
the compounds could only be
used once
Final Jeopardy!!
Explain using as much detail as possible
how Earth’s atmosphere has changed
and continues to change but still fosters
an environment to support life on this
planet.