Outline for Chapter VI
Roles of Living Things
  1. List the three categories of organisms in most ecosystems.
    1. Define the role of the producers.
    2. Define the role of consumers.
        1. What is an herbivore?
        2. What is a carnivore?
        3. What is a scavenger?
    3. Define the role of decomposers

     

  2. What are trophic levels?
    1. Explain the difference between consumers and producers.
    2. Where do omnivores, scavengers, and decomposers feed?

     

     

  3. Ecosystem Structure
    1. What are food webs?
    2. What are food chains?
    3. What happened to the krill population when whaling occurred in the waters around Antarctica?

     

  4. Diversity and Stability
    1. Why are food webs with more connections more stable than a simple food web?
    2. Why is a deciduous forest more stable than a tundra?

 

 

  1. Biomagnification

    2. A. What is biomagnifications?

    B. Why does DDT become more concentrated as it moves up the food chain?

    C. What effect did DDT have the bald eagle?

     

     

  2. Energy in the Ecosystem
    1. How does energy enter an ecosystem?
    2. What is biomass?
    3. What happens to energy as biomass is transferred through an ecosystem?
    4. What is an ecological pyramid?
      1. How much energy is made available in each successive level of an energy pyramid?
      2. What is a biomass pyramid?

     

  3. Cycles of Matter
    1. What four elements make up 96% of your body?
    2. Why is cycling of matter important?
    3. Water Cycle
      1. Define evaporation
      2. Define transpiration
      3. How does the water get recycled?

       

    4. The Carbon Cycle
      1. What effect did photosynthetic organisms have on the carbon cycle?
      2. How are photosynthesis and respiration related?
      3. How does the ocean and rock contribute to the carbon cycle?

       

    5. The Nitrogen Cycle
      1. Why is nitrogen required by living things?
      2. What are legumes? How do they use nitrogen?
      3. How do most plants get their nitrogen?
      4. How do animals get their nitrogen?