EVR 1001 - Chapter 3

This knowt/quizlet is for if you're in EVR 1001 and in a bind! Study this for your test or Midterm, I tried making the answers as streamlined as possible! ALL ANSWERS ARE STRAIGHT FROM THE TEXTBOOK/POWERPOINTS!

Define ecology.

Ecology is the study of interactions among and between organisms in their abiotic environment.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time.

Community

All the populations of different species that live and interact in the same area at the same time

Ecosystem

A community and its abiotic environment

Landscape

Several interacting ecosystems such as a city with a park that has fish inside of it, and birds making nests in the trees

Define energy.

the ability to do work such as growing, moving, eating, or reproducing.

Chemical Energy

Chemical Energy is energy stored in the bonds of molecules.

Radiant Energy is energy transmitted as electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and visible light.

Radiant Energy is energy transmitted as electromagnetic waves such as radio waves and visible light.

Solar Energy

Solar Energy is energy from the sun which is visible, U V, and infrared.

Thermal Energy

Thermal Energy is heat that is flowing from a higher temperature to a lower temperature.

Mechanical energy

Mechanical energy is the movement of matter.

Electrical energy

Electrical energy flows as charged particles.

Nuclear energy

Nuclear energy is energy in atomic nuclei.

Potential Energy

Potential energy is stored energy. A ball at rest has potential energy

Kinetic Energy

Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. When a ball starts rolling it’s kinetic energy

Open System

An open system is one that exchanges its energy with surroundings

Closed System

A closed system does not exchange energy with surroundings

What are the laws of thermodynamics

Thermodynamics is the study of energy and its transformations.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted

When energy is converted from one form to another, some of it will become heat.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is when light energy from the sun is captured and transformed into the chemical energy of carbohydrate molecules. 

Cellular Respiration

Cellular Respiration is the process where the chemical energy captured in photosynthesis is released within cells of plants and animals.

How does energy flow?

Energy flow among producers, consumers, and decomposers. As the food chain gets further and further up, the more heat is lost.

Describe typical ecological pyramids of numbers

The number of organisms at each trophic level, which decreases as the trophic level gets higher

Describe pyramid of biomass

The total amount of living material at each successive trophic level, which gets lower by the hundred with at least a 90% reduction

Describe pyramid of energy

The Pyramid of Energy, which shows how much energy is present at each trophic level and how much is transferred to the next level.

Gross Primary Productivity

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) is the total amount of energy that plants capture and assimilate in a given period of time. Plants use some energy of GPP to maintain themselves.

Net Primary Productivity

Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is productivity after respiration losses are subtracted, with energy available as food for other organisms. Humans affect NPP by consuming far more of Earth’s resources than any other of the millions of animal species. Humans use 25-32% of the annual NPP of land-based ecosystems.

Which ecosystems have the most NPP?

Close-knit and have bodies of water, such as algal beds and reefs, the rainforest, swamps, marshes, and estuaries.

Which ecosystems have the least NPP?

Ecosystems under extreme heat conditions such as the arctic or a dessert and semidesert shrub.