Download study guide for first semester final exam 2013

1.
Hunter-Gatherer: people who obtain food by collecting plants and hunting wild animals or
scavenging their remains.
Affect on ecosystem: Set fires to prevent growth of trees to keep it open grassland so they could
hunt bison. Over-hunting may have led to the disappearance of some large mammals.
Agricultural: Practice of growing, breeding, and caring for plants and animals that are used for
food, clothing, housing, transportation and other purposes.
Affect on ecosystem: Allowed human population to increase dramatically. Grasslands,
Forests, wetlands were replaced with farmland. This destroyed those habitats.
Industrial: Shift from animal muscle and running water to fossil fuels like coal and oil. This
changed society greatly. Although there have been many improvements as a result of the
industrial revolution, much of environmental science is concerned with the problems associated
with it.
2.
Biodiversity: Bio (life) diversity (variety). It is the variety of organisms in a given area, the
genetic variation within a population, the variety of species in a community, or the variety of
communities in an ecosystem.
3.
Loss of biodiversity could cause problems for the human population in the future in that we
would lose out on the potential economic, ecological, scientific, aesthetic and recreational value
that biodiversity provides.
4.
A renewable resource is any natural resource (as wood or solar energy) that can be replenished
naturally with the passage of time.
5.
A sustainable world is a world that is able to continually meet human needs in such a way that the
population can survive indefinitely.
6.
Biotic factors: A factor that is associated with or results from the activities of living organisms.
People, deer, insects and plants are examples.
7.
Abiotic factors: the non living part of the environment including water, rocks, light and
temperature.
8.
Law of supply and demand: law of economics that states that as the demand for a good or service
increases, the value of the good or service also increases. As more people use gasoline,
the demand increases. As the demand increases, the price also increases.
9.
Ecological footprint: a calculation of the productive area of Earth needed to support one person
in a particular country.
10.
A developing nation: lower average incomes, simple agricultural based economies, rapid population
growth. EX: Kenya, Honduras, Mexico
Developed nation: higher average incomes, slower population growth, diverse industrial economies, and
stronger social support systems. EX: USA, Canada, Germany, Japan
11.
Tragedy of the commons: the main difficulty in solving environmental problems is the conflict between
the short-term interests of individuals and the long-term welfare of society. Common resources belong to the
public. The problem was that there was an overuse of common resources making it to where no one could use it
because it was gone. The point of his essay is that someone or some group has to take responsibility for
maintaining a resource. If no one takes responsibility, the resource can be overused and become depleted.
12.
A good experiment has only 1 variable that is different between the control group and the experimental
group. That one variable is the independent variable. All other factors must be controlled to be able
to make a comparison at the end. This comparison allows us to determine the effect (if any) the
independent variable had on the dependent.
13.
The control group: does not receive the independent variable. There for comparison only. The
experimental group does receive the independent variable.
14.
The factor of interest in an experiment is the independent variable.
15.
The steps of the experimental method: Observing, Research, Hypothesis, Experimentation, Organizing
Data, Drawing Conclusions (repeating experiments if necessary), communicating results.
15.
List the steps of the experimental method pg 36, observing, hypothesizing, predicting, experimenting,
analyzing data, drawing conclusions, repeating experiments, communicating results,
16.
What makes a good hypothesis? Pg 35 a single variable and a control group
17.
What are the steps to the decision making model?pg 47; gather information; consider values; explore
consequences; make a decision
18.
What is the difference between economic values, scientific values, environmental values, aesthetic values
pg 47; aesthetic—what is beautiful or pleasing; economic—the gain or loss of money or jobs;
environmental—the protection of natural resources; scientific—understanding the natural world
19.
What gases make up the atmosphere? What percentages? Pg 71; nitrogen 78% ; oxygen 21%; other 1%
20.
Where is the ozone layer located? pg 72; at the top of the stratosphere
21.
What is the greenhouse effect? Pg 76When green house gases trap heat near the earth; keeps the earth’s
surface warm
22.
What are the greenhouse gases? Pg 76 The gases in our atmosphere that trap and radiate heat; CO2, water
vapor, nitrous oxides, methane
23.
What does it mean when you say, with respect to energy, Earth is an open system
and with respect to matter, Earth is a closed system? Pg 85energy enters the Earths system from the
sun, thus it is an open system to the sun; matter does not enter or leave the Earth’s system, so it is a
closed system.
24.
What are the 4 spheres around the earth, and what does each sphere represent? Pg 63, 71, 77; geosphere—
solid part of the earth; atmosphere—gases that surround the earth; hydrosphere—the water in and
around earth; biosphere—where all living organisms exist;
25.
What is photosynthesis? Pg 125; process where plants use energy from the sun to make sugar molecules and
release oxygen
26.
What is respiration? Pg 128; process where sugar molecules are broken down to yield energy and give off
carbon dioxide and water
27.
What are producers? Pg 126; an organism that makes its own food; Autotrophs? producers
28.
What are consumers? Pg 126; an organism that gets their energy by eating other organisms; Heterotrophs?
consumers
29.
How are herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and decomposers alike and different? Pg 127; They are all
consumers; herbivores eat only producers; carnivores eat other consumers; omnivores eat both
producers and consumers; decomposers break down dead organisms
30.
What is the difference in a food chain and a food web? Pg 130; food chain is a single list of organisms from
producer to consumers that get their energy from eating the organism below them.(ie;
algaekrillcodleopard sealkiller whale); food web is all the interconnected food chains within
an ecosystem(see fig 8, pg 130)
31.
How does energy move in an energy pyramid? Pg 131; energy is transferred up the energy pyramid as one
organism eats the other. Producers form the base, transferring the most energy up to the primary
consumers, less energy is transferred to the secondary consumers, and even less energy is transferred
to the tertiary consumers. How much energy moves from one level to the next? About 10%; 90 % is
used for living;
32.
Where is carbon stored in the ecosystem? Pg 132-33; carbon is stored in the bones of animals as well as the
other molecules in their bodies; when these animals die and are fossilized, they form fossil fuels;
carbon is also stored in carbon sinks—limestone rock and the ocean are both carbon sinks, but
limestone is the largest carbon sink on earth.
33.
What are symbiotic relationships? Relationships in which two
34.
How is nitrogen fixed in the soil? Pg. 134: Most organisms cannot use atmospheric nitrogen, so it must be altered.
Nitrogen fixing bacteria are able to take atmospheric nitrogen and fix it into chemical compounds. All other
organisms depend on these bacteria to supply nitrogen.
35.
How does carbon move into and out of plants? Pg. 132: Carbon enters a cycle in an ecosystem when producers (like
plants) convert carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into carbohydrates during photosynthesis. When the plants are
eaten by primary consumers (herbivores) they obtain carbon from the carbohydrates in the plants.
36.
What are symbiotic relationships? Pg. 223: A relationship in which two species live in
close association. Examples of these relationships are: mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.
37.
What is mutualisms? Give an example Pg. 222 A symbiotic relationship in which each
species provides a benefit to the other. An example is the acacia trees in Central America. There are ants to
which the tree provides food and shelter and the ants defend the tree. Both benefit.
38.
What is parasitism? Give an example Pg. 222: A symbiotic relationship in which one
organism lives in or feeds on another. The one that benefits is called the parasite and the other is the host.
Examples are ticks, fleas, tapeworms, bloodsucking leeches and mistletoe. One benefits and the other is
harmed.
39.
What is commensalism? Give an example pg. 223: A symbiotic relationship in which
one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. An example is the relationship between certain
orchids and trees. The orchid grows around the trees branches without harming the tree. The orchid benefits
due to being higher and exposed to more rain and sunlight.
40.
What makes a population? Pg. 211: A population is made up of members of the same
species in the same place at the same time. A population is a reproductive group because organisms will
usually breed with members of their own population.
41.
What makes a population grow? Pg. 212: Change in population size = birth rate – death
rate. So, if a population is going to grow, the birth rate must be greater than the death rate.
42.
Explain density dependant and density independent factors; Give examples of each Pg.
216: Density dependent population regulation is a situation in which the density of the population leads to the
deaths occurring at a greater rate. Such as spreading disease. Density independent population regulation does
not depend on the density of the population. Such as a natural disaster. A certain portion of the population will
die regardless of the density.
43.
What is reproductive potential? Pg. 213: The maximum number of offspring that each
member of the population can produce. Some species have much higher reproductive potential than others. Ex.
A pair of elephants would take about 750 years to produce 19 million descendents. A bacterium can produce 19
million descendants in a few days or weeks.
44.
What is carrying capacity? Pg. 214: This is the theoretical limit to the size to which a
population can grow. It is the maximum population that the ecosystem can support indefinitely.
45.
What are limiting factors? Pg. 215: Limiting resource: A species reaches its carrying
capacity when it consumes a natural resource at the same rate that the ecosystem produces it. If it were to
consume it faster, then the resource would become depleted and then the population would be in trouble. So,
these natural resources determine the carrying capacity.
46.
What is a biome? Pg. 153: A biome is a large region characterized by a specific type of
climate and the types of organisms that live there.
47.
What determines a biome? Pg. 153: The climate and types of organisms that live there.
48.
Characteristics of a savanna Pg. 165: dominated by grasses, shrubs and small trees.
Rain falls only during the wet season and lasts only a few months. This is the only time plants can grow. Parts
of Africa, western India, northern Australia and some parts of South America. Animals are grazing herbivores
such as elephants and zebras.
49.
Characteristics of grasslands Pg. 166 Temperate grasslands cover the interior of
continents where there is moderate rainfall, but still too little for trees to grow. The prairies of N. America, the
steppes in Asia, the veldt in South Africa and the pampas in South America are temperate grasslands.
a.
Vegetation is a single layer of grasses and wildflowers. Animals are grazers like bison
and antelope as well as burrowing animals such as prairie dogs and burrowing owls.
50.
Characteristics of tiaga pg. 163: The northern coniferous forest across the Northern
Hemisphere just below the Arctic Circle. Long winters (6-10 months) and average temps below freezing and
often fall to -20oC. Trees seem like straight, dead shafts of bark and wood with green tops. Plant growth is most
abundant in the summer due to nearly constant daylight and larger amounts of precipitation.
b.
Conifer trees with needle-like leaves and seeds that develop in cones. The year round
residents such as jumping mice burrow underground to hibernate. Others migrate south to avoid the
brutal winter.
51.
Characteristics of tundra: Pg. 172: Associated with northern arctic regions north of the
taiga. Winter is too cold and dry to permit the growth of trees in this biome. Permafrost is a deeper layer of soil
that is permanently frozen throughout the year. In the summer, the top soil layer thaws and becomes moist and
spongy and dotted with bogs. Great breeding grounds for swarming insects like mosquitoes and black flies and
then birds that feed on those would do well in the tundra as well.
52.
Characteristics of tropical rain forest. Pg. 156: located in the belt around the earth near
the equator. The warm wet conditions nourish more species of plants than any other biome. Soil is thin and
lacks nutrients. The nutrients are in the plants, not the soil.
53.
As you travel from the North Pole toward the equator, you would expect to see :
gradually increasing average temperatures. Less extreme periods of light and dark. More pronounced seasons
until you get south of about 30oN, then it would be warmer year round and the seasons would be hard to
distinguish. As you move south, the number of species would increase and life would be more dense and
abundant.
53.
What are the types of fresh water wetlands? Swamps—have woody plants and marshes—have non-woody
plants
54.
What are the two levels of a lake or pond? How are they different? Littoral zone—light, most life, top
layer; benthic zone—dark, bottom layer, only decomposers and bottom dwellers
55.
What are the functions of a wetland? 1-filters out pollutants and sediments; 2—reduce flooding; 3—protect
shorelines from erosion; 4—provide spawning and nesting habitats; 5—provide recreational areas
56.
What are the types of marine ecosystems? Estuaries—high nutrient areas, where freshwater rivers meet the
salt water oceans, water levels go up and down, very high in organisms; Mangrove swamps—areas
along coast where mangrove trees protect shorelines from erosion; Salt marshes—where rivers deposit
their nutrient rich mud, nursery to animals who live as adults in the ocean; rocky shorelines—provide
areas for habitat for a diverse array of organisms; sandy shore—animals are adapted to high and low
tides; barrier islands—protect the mainland and wetlands from storms and ocean waves; coral reefs—
limestone ridges built by coral provide habitats for a vast array of organisms, shallow, warm waters;
oceans—in open ocean, the shallow coastal ocean has the majority of life, due to light penetration; the
deep ocean relies on producers from above or from deep ocean vents; mostly decomposers, filter
feeders are found on bottom of the ocean.
57.
Where are the majority of organisms found in the marine ecosystems? Shallow coastal waters due to light
and food
58.
What provides the food for aquatic ecosystems? Phytoplankton
59.
What are coral reefs formed from? Coral polyps and the algae inside them; they secrete skeletons of
calcium carbonate
60.
What harms the coral reefs? Changes in water temperature; too muddy, polluted, high in nutrients, oil spills,
damage from boats and divers—this is known as coral bleaching
61.
Why doesn’t photosynthesis occur in deep ocean water? The light cannot penetrate more than 100meters, so
photosynthesis cannot occur there.
62.
What is causing mass extinctions today? Human actions such as pollution, climate change, deforestation,
poaching, overpopulation
63.
What are the 3 types of biodiversity? Explain each genetic biodiverstity—the diversity of genetic variations
within a population (no inbreeding); species biodiversity—the diversity of organisms in a specific
area; ecosystem biodiversity—the wide range of ecosystems available on earth(biomes)
64.
What is an endangered species. How is it different from a threatened species? An endangered species is
likely to become extinct; a threatened species has a declining population and is likely to become
endangered if it is not protected.
65.
What are endemic species? Species that are native to an area;
66.
What is an exotic species? What concerns do they cause? Exotic species are not native, but brought in by
humans or other means; they do not have any loc al predators and take over the local ecosystem,
driving out the endemic species.