Studied by 3 people
Define community
A group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat
Define ecosystem
The interaction between a community and the non living parts of the environment
Define photosynthesis
The process by which plants make their own food from water and carbon dioxide using energy from sunlight
What is the equation for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide + water → Glucose + oxygen
What are the inputs for photosynthesis?
Sunlight as energy source, carbon dioxide and water
What are the processes for photosynthesis?
Chlorophyll in chloroplasts captures certain visible wavelengths of sunlight energy and stores this as chemical energy
What are the outputs of photosynthesis?
Glucose and oxygen
What are the transformations in photosynthesis?
LIght energy is transformed into stored chemical energy (in organic matter e.g. carbohydrates, proteins and fats).
What do the products of photosynthesis help with?
Being the raw material for producing biomass
What is glucose used for in a plant?
Respiration: where energy is released from the breakdown of glucose
Making celluloses to make strong cell walls, especially in a rapidly growing plant
Combining with nitrate ones in the soil to form amino acids for protein synthesis
Producing fats/oils for storage (in seeds)
Converted as insoluble starch for storage in stems, leaves and roots
Define biomass
The mass of living material
Define respiration
The conversion of organic matter (glucose) into carbon dioxide and water in all organisms, releasing energy and heat
What is the equation for respiration?
Glucose + oxygen → Carbon dioxide + water
What are the inputs, processes and outputs of respiration?
Inputs: glucose and oxygen
Processes: oxidation inside cells
Outputs: release of energy or work and heat
What are the transformations in respiration?
Stored chemical energy is transformed into kinetic energy and heat
What is an effect of respiration having large amounts of energy being lost as heat?
The entropy in the ecosystem increases, enabling the organisms to maintain low entropy
Define trophic levels
The position that an organism occupies in a food chain
Define food chain
The flow of energy from one organism to the next. It shows feeding relationships between species in an ecosystem
What does trophic level 1 consist of?
Producers - plants and algae that produce their own biomass using energy from sunlight
What does trophic level 2 consist of?
Primary consumers - herbivores - feed on producersW
What does trophic level 3 consist of?
Secondary consumers - predators - feed on primary consumers
What does trophic level 4 consist of?
Tertiary consumers - predators - feed on secondary consumers
What does trophic level 5 consist of?
Quaternary consumers - (apex) predators - feed on tertiary consumers
What are producers normally?
Autotrophs
Define chemosythetic organisms
Organisms that make their own food from simple compounds like ammonia, hydrogen sulphide and methane
Don’t need sunlight and are often bacteria found in deep oceans
What is the importance of producers?
Help fix energy into the ecosystem
Provide habitats for other organisms
Supply nutrients (humus) to the soil
Bind the soil to prevent soil erosion
What are consumers?
Heterotrophs
Define heterotroph
Organisms which feed on autotrophs or other heterotrophs to obtain energy
Define decomposers
Feed on dead and decaying matter
