Biosphere, Ecosystems, and Communities Project

Name______Section______

Directions: 1. View the on-line PowerPoint Presentation. 2. Read Chapters 3 and 4 in the textbook. 3. Write the definitions all vocabulary words on pages 82 and 114 in the textbook. 4. Complete the following short answer questions. 5. Study for a comprehensive test.

Question Bank

1. List the six different levels of organization that ecologists study, in order from smallest to largest.

2. Describe the three basic methods of ecological research.

3. Identify two ways in which you interact with each of the three parts of the biosphere-land, water, and air-every day.

4. Suppose you wanted to know if the water in a certain stream is safe to drink. Which ecological method(s) would you choose and why?

5. What are the two main forms of energy that power living systems? 6. Briefly describe the flow of energy among organisms in an ecosystem.

7. What proportion of energy is transferred from one tropic level to the next in an ecosystem?

8. Show the following as a food chain: omnivore, autotroph, herbivore.

9. Draw an energy pyramid for a five-step food chain. If 100 percent of the energy is available at the first trophic level, what percentage of the total energy is available at the highest tropic level.

10. How does the way that matter flows through an ecosystem differ from the way that energy flows?

11. Why do living organisms need nutrients?

12. Describe the path of nitrogen through its biogeochemical cycle.

13. Explain how a nutrient can be a limiting factor in an ecosystem. 14. Based on your knowledge of the carbon cycle, what do you think might happen if vast areas of forest are cleared?

15. What is the greenhouse effect?

16. Describe Earth’s three main climate zones.

17. What are the main factors that determine Earth’s climate?

18. Describe two ways in which heat is transported in the biosphere.

19. What might conditions on Earth be like without the greenhouse effect?

20. What is the difference between a biotic factor and an abiotic factor?

21. Name three types of community interactions that can affect an ecosystem. 22. What is the difference between primary succession and secondary succession?

23. How is an organism’s niche determined?

24. How are the three types of symbiotic relationships different? How are they similar?

25. List the major land biomes and give three characteristic features of each.

26. How are biomes classified?

27. What are the two types of tropical forests? How do they differ?

28. How might the presence of a mountain range affect the types of plants and animals found in an area?

29. What characteristic would you expect tundra animals to have?

30. List three characteristics that determine the structure of aquatic ecosystems. 31. How are standing-water ecosystems similar to flowing-water ecosystems? How are they different?

32. List six distinct ecological zones that can be found in the ocean. Give two abiotic factors for each zone.

33. Define a wetland and an estuary.

34. What are coral reefs? Explain.

35. How might the damming of a river affect an estuary at the river’s mouth?