Download Ecosystems Unit Test – Midterm Study Guide 2011

Integrated Science
Name __________KEY____________
Ecosystems Unit Test – Midterm Study Guide 2011
NOTE: Vocabulary you should know is in italics and/or on other side of this study guide.
1. What is ecology? Study of interactions in nature
2. Given a food web, be able to find a food chain and identify the producers, primary
consumers, and secondary consumers (What eats what???)
Producers (plants, seeds, trees) are eaten by Primary Consumers (mice, deer, rabbits,
insects, etc) which are eaten by Secondary Consumers (snakes, wolves, eagles, etc).
3. How is an ecosystem affected by the loss of a single organism? Good AND bad outcomes.
Loss of a secondary consumer would increase population of primary consumers
(good), but that would be bad for the producers (plants) because too many would be eaten.
Loss of a producer would limit the food for all other organisms, but give more living
space for all organisms.
Loss of a primary consumer: less food for secondary consumers who would die, and
more living space for plants, which would increase.
4. Which organisms are most abundant? Producers
Least abundant? Secondary consumers
5. What is the source of an ecosystem’s energy? All energy comes first from the SUN
6. What is the role of decomposers? To recycle nutrients from decaying plants and animals.
Is it part of the energy pyramid? (NO!)
7. What happens to energy as you go up the energy pyramid? Why? Energy decreases as
you go up an energy pyramid. At each level, energy is LOST as HEAT in life processes.
8. Where would you find herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores on an energy pyramid? Be
able to draw and label an energy pyramid.
(top) Secondary Consumers
Primary Consumers
Producers
9. What are biotic and abiotic elements? Give examples of each.
Abiotic = Non-living: water, air, clouds, sun, rocks, soil, etc.
Biotic = living: plants, bugs, bacteria, animals, food, etc.
10. How many elements make up 99% of our bodies? Six (C, H, N. O, Ca, P)
11. What is the purpose of any cycle in nature? To move and renew resources in an ecosystem
12. Why is biodiversity important? Ensures survival of life; each organism helps another
organism some how; prevents extinctions
13. What is a population? Number of organisms of SAME species in an area
14. What is adaptation? Give some examples of adaptation. Color, covering (fur, scales,
feathers, etc) that allow a species to thrive or protect itself from predators or get food.
15. What 3 factors are essential for ALL life? Food, water and shelter
16. What is a limiting factor? Relate this to competition and survival. Amount of food, water
and living space and resources; competition is any other organism that wants the same
food source, living space and water or resources. (Ex: both owls and wolves eat mice; or
both mice and rabbits eat plants)
17. How can you determine the carrying capacity of an ecosystem? When looking at a graph,
it where the population is most stable over time (s-curve) (usually at the END)
18. What are four types of population curves? Be able to recognize each graph.
J curve = sharp growth curve UP; Crash = sharp decline (almost straight DOWN);
Linear = regular positively sloped straight line; S-curve = almost flat line with little up and
down waves indicating a stable population
a. Which curve describes the carrying capacity of an ecosystem? S-curve
b. Which curve describes human population growth over the last 100 years? J-curve
19. You will be asked to create and interpret a graph. Know what is a direct relationship or an
indirect relationship. Know how to title and label axes on a graph!
Direct = positive slope (moves UP to right); Indirect = negative slope (DOWN to right)
20. Be able to draw any one complete cycle in nature , labeling each part, using arrows, etc.
Review and know at least ONE cycle in your cycles packet.
21. What lessons can we learn today from Easter Island? What happened on Easter Island?
Inhabitants cut down all their trees to move statues honoring their ancestors; Topsoil was
lost and crops failed; starving people killed each other; islanders could not leave the island
(no wood for boats). LESSON: Use resources wisely, think of the future and replant when
cutting forests
22. What evidence do we have for global warming? Glaciers melting; spread of certain
insects; oceans rising; average global temperature increasing; climate changing
23. Name at least 3 greenhouse gases. Water, methane, carbon dioxide; CFC’s
24. Name at least three reasons some animals are endangered today.
Global warming is changing their habitat; pollution; overhunting or predation; loss of
habitat due to human expansion; new diseases
25. What is climate? Characteristic temperature and rainfall in an area (including how it may
change seasonally.
26. Review ALL questions of the day; you may use them for the test! All Questions of Day
and answers are posted on line at the end of each week. See my calendar at asdk12.org
BONUS Questions:
1. Why do we have grasslands instead of forests (for the same temperature zone)?
There is too little rainfall to grow trees in the grasslands.
2. Why don’t we run out of carbon (or other elements)?
Carbon, like the other elements, cycles through the ecosystem in different forms.