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Chapter 4 Study Guide
1. Define Ecosystem.
Ecosystems are communities of organisms and their abiotic environment.
2. What are some examples of ecosystems?
oak forest or a coral reef.
3. What are the five levels of organization?
Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, (Biosphere)
4. What basic components do ecosystems need to survive?
energy
mineral/nutrients
water
oxygen
living organisms
5. What are biotic factors?
Biotic factors are environmental factors that are associated with or results from
the activities of living organisms which includes plants, animals, dead organisms,
and the waste products of organisms.
6. What are abiotic factors?
Abiotic factors are environmental factors that are not associated with the
activities of living organisms which includes air, water, rocks, and temperature.
7. Define Organisms.
Organisms are living things that can carry out life processes independently.
8. Define Species.
Species are groups of organisms that are closely related can mate to produce
fertile offspring.
9. What is a population?
Populations are groups of organisms of the same species that live in a specific
geographical area and interbreed.
10. Do members of a population typically breed with each other or with other
populations?
No.
11. What are communities?
Communities are groups of various species that live in the same habitat and
interact with each other.
12. What is the most obvious difference between communities?
The most obvious difference between communities is the types of species they
have.
13. What is the name for a place that an organism lives?
Habitats are places where an organism usually lives.
14. Organism tend to be __________ _____________ to their habitats.
Organisms tend to be very well suited to their natural habitats.
15. Who was the English naturalist who observed that organisms in a population
differ slightly from each other in form, function, and behavior?
Charles Darwin
16. Define Natural Selection.
Natural selection is the process by which individuals that have favorable
variations and are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce
more successfully than less well adapted individuals do.
17. Define Evolution.
Evolution is a change in the characteristics of a population from one generation to
the next.
18. Does nature favor organisms with bad or beneficial traits?
Beneficial
19. Define adaptation.
Adaptation is the process of becoming adapted to an environment.
20. Define coevolution.
The process of two species evolving in response to long-term interactions with
each other is called coevolution.
21. What is the adaptation of the honeycreeper, and how does that assist both the
flower and the bird? (This may be a short answer hint hint.)
It has a long curved beak which allows it to reach nectar at the flowers base. The
flower has structures that ensure that the bird gets pollen on its head, which
passes it to other plants. The bird gets food, the flower is able to reproduce. The
plant is able to attract the bird through sweet nectar.
22. What is artificial selection?
Artificial selection is the selective breeding of organisms, by humans, for specific
desirable characteristics.
23. Define Resistance.
Resistance is the ability of an organism to tolerate a chemical or disease-causing
agent.
24. What is one way in which an organism becomes resistant to a gene?
An organism may be resistant to a chemical when it contains a gene that allows it
to break down a chemical into harmless substances.
25. How do we promote the evolution of resistant bacteria?
Humans promote the evolution of resistant populations by trying to control pests
and bacteria with chemicals.
26. Check the grasshopper example in your notes, it may be used as an essay
question.
27. How many kingdoms are there in nature?
6
28. What is the smallest unit of biological organization?
The cell
29. What are the six kingdoms?
Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Fungi, Protists, Plants, Animals
30. Define bacteria.
Bacteria are extremely small, single-celled organisms that usually have a cell wall
and reproduce by cell division.
31. What are the two kinds of bacteria?
There are two main kinds of bacteria, archaebacteria and eubacteria.
32. What bacteria is found in human intestines?
E. Coli
33. Define Fungus.
A fungus is an organism whose cells have nuclei, rigid cell walls, and no
chlorophyll and that belongs to the kingdom Fungi.
34. What is the reproductive structure of a fungus?
A mushroom is the reproductive structure of a fungus.
35. How do fungi get food?
Fungi get their food by releasing chemicals that help break down organic matter,
and then absorbing the nutrients.
36. Define Protists.
Protists are diverse organisms that belong to the kingdom Protista.
37. What is the most important protist?
From an environmental standpoint, the most important protists are algae.
38. What were some characteristics of the first land plants?
The first land plants had no vascular tissue, and swimming sperm.
39 . What were the first vascular plants?
Ferns and club mosses were the first vascular plants, with some of the ferns being
as large as small trees.
40. What are Gymnosperms?
Gymnosperms are woody vascular see plants whose seeds are not enclosed by an
ovary or fruit.
41. How do Gymnosperms spread sperm?
Pollen
42. What are angiosperms?
Angiosperms are flowering plants that produce seeds within fruit. Most land
plants are angiosperms.
43. What is the reproductive structure of an angiosperm?
The flower
44. What kingdom are humans a part of?
Animals
45. Define Invertebrates.
Invertebrates are animals that do not have backbones.
46. Why are insects so successful?
they have a waterproof skeleton
can move and reproduce quickly
most insects can fly
their small size allows them to live on little food and to hide from enemies in
small places.
47. What are some diseases that bloodsucking insects carry?
Bloodsucking insects transmit human diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness,
and West Nile virus.
48. Define vertebrates.
Vertebrates are animals that have a backbone, and includes mammals, birds,
reptiles, amphibians, and fish.
49. Why were reptiles so successful?
These animals were successful because they have an almost waterproof egg,
which allows the egg to hatch on land, away from predators in the water.
50. What are some characteristics of mammals?
Warm Blooded, Fur, Feed their young milk