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Biogeochemical Cycles & Ecosystem Types: Overview, Quizzes of Biology

An introduction to various biogeochemical cycles, including the water cycle, carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, and groundwater cycle. It also covers important ecosystem types, such as ocean, freshwater, and land ecosystems, and their respective organisms. Students will gain a better understanding of the interconnectedness of these systems and the role they play in the world climate.

Typology: Quizzes

2013/2014

Uploaded on 12/05/2014

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TERM 1
Basics of Cycles
DEFINITION 1
Unlike energy, the physical components of ecosystems
are passed around and reused within ecosystems
the paths of water, carbon, ans soil nutrients as they pass
from the environment to living organisms and back form
closed biogeochemicalcycles
TERM 2
Water Cycle
DEFINITION 2
of all the nonliving components of an ecosystem, water has the
greatest influence on the living portio n and cycles within an
ecosystem in two ways:environmental water cycle: wa ter
vapor in the atmosphere condenses and falls to earth as
precipitationorganismic water cycle: water is taken up b y plant
roots; after passing through the plant , it evaporates from plant
leaves via transpiration
TERM 3
Groundwater
DEFINITION 3
In the US more than 96% of freshwater is in the form of
groundwater
Groundwater occurs in permeable, saturated,
underground layers of rock, sand, and gravel called
aquifers
TERM 4
Carbon Cycle
DEFINITION 4
The earth's atmosphere contains plentiful carbon, present as
CO2, and carbon cycles between the atmosphere and living
organisms
plants trap the carbon in organic molecules by
photosynthesis
the carbon is returned to the atmosphere by respiration,
combination, and erosion.
TERM 5
Nitrogen Cycle
DEFINITION 5
Most living organisms cannot use the main form of nitrogen
in the atmosphere, N2, gas
Two nitrogen atoms of N2, are bound by a triple bond that
is hard to break
Some bacteria can break this bond, and add the N to H
atoms, forming ammonia (NH3)
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Basics of Cycles

Unlike energy, the physical components of ecosystems are passed around and reused within ecosystems the paths of water, carbon, ans soil nutrients as they pass from the environment to living organisms and back form closed biogeochemicalcycles TERM 2

Water Cycle

DEFINITION 2 of all the nonliving components of an ecosystem, water has the greatest influence on the living portion and cycles within an ecosystem in two ways: environmental water cycle: water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and falls to earth as precipitation organismic water cycle: water is taken up by plant roots; after passing through the plant, it evaporates from plant leaves via transpiration TERM 3

Groundwater

DEFINITION 3 In the US more than 96% of freshwater is in the form of groundwater Groundwater occurs in permeable, saturated, underground layers of rock, sand, and gravel called aquifers TERM 4

Carbon Cycle

DEFINITION 4 The earth's atmosphere contains plentiful carbon, present as CO2, and carbon cycles between the atmosphere and living organisms plants trap the carbon in organic molecules by photosynthesis the carbon is returned to the atmosphere by respiration, combination, and erosion. TERM 5

Nitrogen Cycle

DEFINITION 5 Most living organisms cannot use the main form of nitrogen in the atmosphere, N2, gas Two nitrogen atoms of N2, are bound by a triple bond that is hard to break Some bacteria can break this bond, and add the N to H atoms, forming ammonia (NH3)

Rotation

The earth's annual orbit around the sun and its daily rotation on its own axis are important in determining the world climate.-because of the annual cycle and the inclination of the earth's axis, all parts away from the equator experience a progression of seasons TERM 7

Latitude and Elevation

DEFINITION 7 Temperature varies with elevation, with higher elevations becoming progressively cooler At any given latitude, air temperature falls about 6 degrees C for every 1,000-meter increase in elevation When a moving body of air encounters a mountain, it is forced upward. TERM 8

Ocean Circulation effects

DEFINITION 8 El Nino Occurs every two to seven years and is a warning of Pacific waters caused by a shift in winds that normally carry water from east to west. the resulting warming will cause an increase in winter storms to the CA coast and a wetter and colder winter in Florida and Gulf coast areas. TERM 9

Basic ecosystem types (be prepared to

describe an ecosystem/biome)

DEFINITION 9 Ocean Freshwater Land TERM 10

Ocean Ecosystem

DEFINITION 10 The oceans have an average depth of more than 3 km and they are, for the most part, cold and dark. There are 3 main types of ocean ecosystems: shallow water open-sea surface deep-sea waters

Freshwater lakes

Lakes can be dived into two categories, based on their production of organic materials-oligotrophic lakes have little scarce minerals and organic matterbecause they are deeper, they always have deep waters rich in oxygen-eutrophic lakes have an abundant supply of minerals and organic matterthey have little oxygen at deep depths but are re-infused at overturns TERM 17

Land

Eosyems

DEFINITION 17 A biome is a terrestrial ecosystem-each biome is characterized by a particular climate and a defined group of organisms-the biomes differ remarkable from each other0there are seven major and seven minor biomes distributed throughout the earth*biomes that normally occur at high latitudes also follow an altitudinal gradient along mountains TERM 18

Tropical rain forests

DEFINITION 18 They are the richest ecosystems on earth-Communities are very diverse in that each type of organism is often represented by a few individuals TERM 19

Savannas

DEFINITION 19 Grasslands that have widely spaced trees and seasonal rainfall-Transitional biome between tropical rain forest and desert TERM 20

Deserts

DEFINITION 20 Dry places with sparseDeciduous o vegetation-Plants and animals may restrict their activity to favorable times of the year (water present)

Deciduous forests

forests of trees that drop their leaves in the winter-Remnants of the once great forests now remain TERM 22

Taiga

DEFINITION 22 A great ring of coniferous trees that extends across vast areas of North American and Asia-Most of the trees occur in dense stands of one or two species TERM 23

Tundra

DEFINITION 23 Open, often boggy, grassland that occurs in the far north beyond the taiga- Permafrost, or permanent ice, usually exists within 1 meter of the surface. TERM 24

Chaparral

DEFINITION 24 Consists of evergreen, often spiny shrubs and low trees- These communities occur in a "Mediterranean" dry summer climate TERM 25

Polar Ice

DEFINITION 25 Polar ice caps lie over the Arctic Ocean in the north and Antarctica in the South-This region receives almost no precipitation and freshwater in scarce