Integrated Science II Exam 2 – Study Guide
Chapter 21 – Ecology
Vocabulary
Abiotic/Biotic: Abiotic refers to non-living components such as sunlight, water, and minerals, while biotic refers to living organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, that interact within an ecosystem.
Biomass: This is the total mass of all living organisms in a particular area or ecosystem at a specific time. High biomass indicates a productive ecosystem, often measured in grams per square meter.
Community: A community encompasses all the populations of different species that live and interact in a specific area. These interactions can include competition, predation, and symbiosis.
Consumer Types:
Primary Consumer: Herbivores that eat producers (plants) to obtain energy. Examples include rabbits, deer, and insects.
Secondary Consumer: Carnivores that consume primary consumers; examples include frogs, birds, and small mammals.
Decomposer: Organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, that break down dead organic material, returning vital nutrients to the soil and supporting the growth of producers.
Ecology: The scientific study of the relationships and interactions between living organisms and their physical environment, focusing on species interactions, energy flow, and nutrient cycling.
Ecosystem: A dynamic complex of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms interacting with one another and with the non-living environment (abiotic factors) resulting in energy flow and nutrient cycling.
Niche: The specific role or function of a species within its ecosystem, including its habitat, resource use, and interactions. The competitive exclusion principle states that no two species can occupy the same niche simultaneously.
Population: A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area at the same time, with shared gene pools.
Producer: Autotrophs, primarily plants, that convert solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis, forming the base of the food web.
Symbiosis: Close and long-term biological interactions between two different species, which can be categorized as:
Parasitism: A relationship where one organism benefits (the parasite) at the expense of another (the host), often harming it.
Commensalism: A symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits while the other remains unaffected.
Mutualism: A beneficial interaction for both organisms involved, enhancing their chances of survival and reproduction.
Chapter 22 – Plate Tectonics
Vocabulary
Earth Science/Geology: The study focused on understanding the Earth, its processes, materials, and history, often informing predictions about natural events and resource management.
Compositional Layers:
Core: The innermost layer of the Earth, composed mostly of iron and nickel; consists of a solid inner core and a liquid outer core, which generate the Earth's magnetic field.
Mantle: The thick layer above the core, consisting of semi-solid rock that flows slowly, driving tectonic plate movements.
Crust: The outer layer of the Earth that includes both continental crust made of granite and oceanic crust made of basalt.
Structural Layers:
Asthenosphere: The semi-fluid upper layer of the mantle that allows tectonic plates to move; characterized by soft, flowing rock.
Lithosphere: The rigid upper part of the Earth, comprising the crust and the upper mantle, where tectonic plates reside.
Differentiation: The process by which heavier, denser materials sink to form the core while lighter materials are expelled to form the crust and mantle, leading to a stratified Earth structure.
Plate Tectonics: A scientific theory explaining the movement of the Earth's lithospheric plates, which float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere, leading to various geological phenomena such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, and mountain building.
Plate Boundaries:
Convergent: Where plates collide, resulting in subduction zones where one plate moves under another, often creating mountains or deep ocean trenches.
Divergent: Where plates move apart, leading to the formation of new crust as magma rises to the surface, as seen at mid-ocean ridges.
Transform: Where plates slide past each other horizontally, creating friction and often resulting in earthquakes.
Processes:
Volcanoes: Formed by magma escaping to the Earth's surface, leading to explosive or effusive eruptions.
Earthquakes: Sudden ground shaking caused by the release of stress accumulated along faults at plate boundaries.
Mountain Building: Occurs at convergent boundaries through processes like folding, faulting, and volcanic activity.
Chapter 23 – Rocks and Minerals
Vocabulary
Minerals: Naturally occurring inorganic solids with a definite chemical composition and crystalline structure, characterized by properties such as hardness, crystal form, cleavage, color, and specific gravity.
Igneous Rock: Formed from cooled molten rock (magma) or lava; categorized into:
Extrusive: Rocks that cool quickly at the surface, leading to fine-grained textures (e.g., basalt).
Intrusive: Rocks that cool slowly beneath the surface, resulting in coarse-grained textures (e.g., granite).
Sedimentary Rock: Formed through processes of sedimentation, lithification, and mineral precipitation; often contains fossils, formed in layers, and important for reconstructing past environments.
Metamorphic Rock: Rocks that originate from existing rocks transformed through heat, pressure, and chemical processes, exhibiting foliation (layering) or non-foliated textures.
Rock Cycle: A continuous process involving the transformation of rocks through erosion, sedimentation, magma formation, and metamorphism, contributing to geological activity over time.
Chapter 24 – Earth’s Surface
Vocabulary
Crustal Deformation: Changes in the Earth's crust due to stress types such as compression (squeezing), tension (stretching), and shear (sliding).
Landforms: Includes various types of mountains (folded, upwarped, fault-block), and different volcano types (shield, cinder cone, composite) formed by geological processes.
Water Cycle: Refers to the continuous movement of water through evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, and runoff, influencing weather and ecosystems.
Glaciers: Large masses of ice that flow and reshape land through processes of erosion (carving out valleys) and deposition (creating landforms such as moraines).
Chapter 25 – Surface Processes
Vocabulary
Weathering: The breakdown of rocks at the Earth’s surface due to physical (mechanical) and chemical processes, influencing soil formation and landscape shape.
Erosion: The removal and transportation of weathered materials by agents such as water, wind, ice, or gravity, reshaping the Earth’s surface.
Deposition: The accumulation of sediments carried by erosion, which can lead to sedimentary rock formation and new landforms.
Chapter 26 – Weather and Climate
Definitions
Weather: The short-term atmospheric conditions in a specific area, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind, which fluctuate daily.
Climate: The long-term average of weather patterns over extended periods (usually over 30 years) in a specific region, influencing ecosystems and human activities.
Vocabulary
Air Masses: Large bodies of air defined by their moisture source and temperature, categorized as continental (dry) or maritime (moist), warm or cold, influencing local weather phenomena.
Coriolis Effect: The deflection of moving air masses due to the Earth's rotation, which affects wind patterns and ocean currents, influencing weather systems globally.
Cyclones/Anticyclones: Areas of low (cyclones) or high (anticyclones) pressure that drive local weather patterns and influence atmospheric circulation and storm systems.
Chapter 27 – Environmental Geology
Vocabulary
Earthquakes: Sudden, rapid shaking of the ground, measured using the Richter and Moment Magnitude Scales, which assess the energy released during seismic events.
Tsunamis: Large and powerful ocean waves triggered by underwater disturbances like earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, causing substantial coastal damage and hazards.
Process Topics
Formation of Natural Disasters: Understanding the geological and environmental conditions that lead to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, including their implications for human safety and infrastructure.
Discussion Points: Considerations regarding climate change, global warming, the geological implications of the Ring of Fire, and how these phenomena impact both ecology and geology.