Biology Chapter 2 Flashcards

Flashcards for Biology Chapter 2 lecture notes.

Stewardship

A way of acting that involves taking personal responsibility for the management and care of something.

Environmental Stewardship

Working to take care of the world.

Atmosphere

The outermost layer of the Earth, made up of 78% nitrogen gas, 21% oxygen gas, and less than 1% argon, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and others.

Lithosphere

The Earth's solid outer layer, consisting of a rocky surface making up mountains, ocean floors, and all hard landscapes.

Hydrosphere

All of Earth's water in solid, liquid, and gas forms, including oceans, lakes, ice, groundwater, and clouds.

Biosphere

The zone or locations on Earth where life can exist within the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.

Gaia Hypothesis

The theory that Earth, through interactions between all of the spheres, behaves like a living organism.

Ecosystem

All of the living organisms that share a region and interact with each other and their nonliving environment.

Biotic factor

Living things, living things remains, and their products or waste (e.g., nests).

Abiotic factors

Nonliving things, physical and chemical components like water, wind, temperature, air, and minerals.

Organism

An individual animal or plant or single-celled life form.

Population

All members of the same species that live in that area.

Community

All different populations living in the same area.

Biome

A large geographical region that contains similar ecosystems.

Terrestrial ecosystem

An ecosystem on land.

Aquatic ecosystem

An ecosystem in water.

Sustainability

Ability to maintain an ecological balance (equilibrium).

Radiant energy

Energy that travels through empty space, coming from the sun.

Photosynthesis

The process where carbon dioxide and water, using light, are converted into glucose and oxygen.

Producers (autotrophs)

Organisms that perform photosynthesis and create their own energy-rich food using the sun.

Cellular respiration

The process where the products of photosynthesis are converted back into carbon dioxide, water, and ATP.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Usable energy for cells for activities.

Consumers (heterotrophs)

Organisms that must obtain energy-rich sugar by consuming other organisms.

Ecological niche

The function a species serves in its ecosystem, including what it eats, what eats it, how it behaves, and how it contributes.

Primary consumer

Gets their energy directly from plants.

Secondary consumer

Eats primary consumers to get energy through something else.

Tertiary consumer

Third consumer after secondary

Herbivore

Eats plants and other producers.

Carnivore

Eats other animals.

Omnivore

Eats plants, other producers, and other animals.

Scavenger

Eats the remains of another organism.

Detritivores

Feed on organic matter.

Decomposer

Break down organic matter (bacteria and fungi).

Trophic level

The position an organism has in the food chain.

Ecological Pyramid

A display of relationships between trophic levels in ecosystems.

Biomass

Total mass of all organisms combined within that trophic level.

Nutrients

Provide energy and matter that your body needs to stay alive (e.g., carbs, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals).

Reservoir

If nutrients accumulate somewhere and takes a long time to cycle.

Biogeochemical Cycles

The movement of matter through the biotic and abiotic environment.

Water cycle

Continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.

Evaporation

Liquid water evaporates forming water vapor.

Condensation

Water vapor moves through the atmosphere and condenses (turns into rain or ice crystals).

Precipitation

The condensed water (rain, hail, snow) begins to fall back to Earth.

Transpiration

Water falling either enters bodies of water or hits land where it is absorbed by plants and then released (evapotranspiration).

Surface Runoff

Water moves across the surface of the earth and enters lakes, rivers and oceans

Nitrogen fixation and nitrification

Most nitrogen used by living things is taken from the atmosphere by certain bacteria.

Limiting factors

Place an upper limit on the population size of a particular species.

Tolerance range

All species are able to survive within a range.

Symbiotic relationship

Long term biological interaction between two different biological organisms.

Mutualism

Both organisms benefit.

Commensalism

One organism benefits from the relationship.

Parasitism

One organism benefits from the cost of the host.

Predation

One organism consumes another for food.

Mimicry

When one animal looks like another