Ecology Semester 1 Course Review Name______Date______Per___

Unit 1: Introduction to Environmental Science

Essential questions:

·  How did hunter-gatherers affect the environment in which they lived?

·  What were the major environmental effects of the agricultural revolution?

·  What were the major environmental effects of the industrial revolution?

·  Explain how environmental problems can be local, regional or global. Give an example of each and classify them as either resource depletion, pollution or loss of biodiversity.

·  What is a biodegradable pollutant? Give an example. What is a nonbiodegradable pollutant. Give an example.

·  What is sustainability? Why is is a goal of environmental science?

·  What are some differences between developed and developing countries?

·  What is a renewable resource? Give an example.

·  What is a nonrenewable resource? Give an example.

·  What is the Tragedy of the Commons? Give an example.

·  What is the difference between environmental science and ecology?

·  What are the essential parts of a good experiment?

·  Why do scientists perform multiple trials, repeat experiments and make multiple observations?

·  What is your ecological footprint? How could you decrease the size of your ecological footprint?

·  How can a scientist be both skeptical and open to new ideas at the same time?

·  How could environmental concerns conflict with an improvement in the standard of living?

·  Why was it so difficult to for people to agree on how to restore the Florida Everglades?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Course Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Ecology

·  Environmental science

·  Ecological footprint

·  Agricultural revolution

·  Industrial revolution

·  Biodegradable

·  Nonbiodegradable

·  Nonrenewable resource

·  Renewable resource

·  Sustainability

·  Tragedy of the Commons

·  Florida Everglades

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

1.  Ecology is the study of the relationships between ______and their ______.

2.  Classify each of the following resources as renewable (R) or nonrenewable (NR):

____Trees ____Freshwater ____Coal ____Soil

____Gasoline ____Sunlight ____Fossil fuels ____Clean air

3.  Compare and contrast the impact on the environment:

Hunter-gatherers / Agricultural Revolution / Industrial Revolution

4.  Classify each type of waste as biodegradable (B) or nonbiodegradable (NB):

____Banana peel ____Aluminum can ____Human sewage ____Paper

____Mercury ____Styrofoam cup ____Plastic ____Leaves

5.  An ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the environment. Use the countries listed to answer the questions below: Mexico, India, United States

In which of the countries listed would you expect the average ecological footprint to be the highest? ______

In which of the countries listed would you expect the average ecological footprint to be the lowest? ______

Unit 2: The Earth

Essential questions:

·  What are the layers of the earth and what is their composition?

·  What is the main cause of earthquakes and their effects?

·  What would be the effect of a large scale volcanic eruption on theglobal climate?

·  How does wind and water alter the Earth's surface?

·  What is the composition of the atmosphere?

·  What are the layers of the atmosphere and their characteristics?

·  How does ozone in the stratosphere affect life on the Earth's surface?

·  What is the greenhouse effect?

·  What human activities increase the levels of greenhouse gases?

·  What makes life possible in the biosphere?

·  What is the Richter scale?

·  What are the properties of ocean water?

·  How does the absorption and release of heat by the ocean differ from the absorption and release of heat by land?

·  What is the water cycle?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Tectonic plate

·  Richter scale

·  Ring of Fire

·  Salinity

·  Water cycle

·  Atmosphere

·  Troposphere

·  Stratosphere

·  Greenhouse effect

·  Ozone layer

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

6.  The following gases make up the air we breathe. Put them in order from most abundant to least abundant:

Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, Nitrogen, Argon ______

7.  What does the ozone layer do? ______

8.  What human activities increase the levels of greenhouse gases? ______

9.  Where do most earthquakes and volcanoes occur? ______

10.  Where is most of the Earth’s water? ______Where is most of the Earth’s freshwater? ______

11.  What happens in each of the following steps in the water cycle?

Evaporation
Condensation
Precipitation
Percolation
Runoff

Unit 3: Life

Essential questions:

·  What are some biotic and abiotic factors you observed on your way to school today?

·  What is the difference between a population, species and community?

·  Why is an organism's habitat important for that organism?

·  How is natural selection related to the process of evolution?

·  What is an adaptation?

·  How can a population of insects develop pesticide resistance?

·  What are the six kingdoms of life? Describe the characteristics of each.

·  What is one way that bacteria and fungi are similar? What is one way in which they are different?

·  How is algae important in aquatic ecosystems?

·  How do flowering plants and animals depend on each other?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Ecosystem

·  Habitat

·  Biotic

·  Abiotic

·  Species

·  Population

·  Community

·  Natural selection

·  Evolution

·  Extinction

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

12.  True or False:

_____Very few species have gone extinct.

_____Individuals with traits better suited to their environment tend to survive and reproduce at a greater rate.

_____Individuals of a population are genetically identical.

_____Populations (not individuals) evolve over time in response to the environment.

_____Many species have gone extinct throughout the history of life on earth.

_____Individuals choose to inherit traits to better fit their environment.

13.  Classify each of the following ecosystem components as biotic (B) or abiotic (Ab):

____Lions ____Humidity ____Poop ____Leaves

____Air ____Bacteria ____Water ____Algae

____pH ____Rocks ____Sunlight ____Bananas

Unit 4: Ecosystems

Essential questions:

·  How do producers and consumers get energy from the sun?

·  What are the types of consumers in an ecosystem?

·  What is the difference between a food web and a food chain?

·  Why are trophic levels represented in an energy pyramid?

·  What processes release carbon into the atmosphere? What processes absorb carbon from the atmosphere?

·  How can driving a car affect the carbon cycle?

·  What causes algae blooms? How do algae blooms harm aquatic ecosystems?

·  How is secondary succession different from primary succession?

·  How can fire benefit some ecosystems?

·  What role does a pioneer species play during the process of ecological succession?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Photosynthesis

·  Cellular respiration

·  Producer (Autotroph)

·  Consumer (Heterotroph)

·  Decomposer

·  Herbivore

·  Carnivore

·  Omnivore

·  Food chain

·  Food web

·  Carbon cycle

·  Combustion

·  Algal bloom

·  Primary succession

·  Secondary succession

·  Pioneer species

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

14.  Which of the processes in the carbon cycle add (A) carbon dioxide to the atmosphere? Which processes remove (R) carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

____Photosynthesis ____Cellular respiration ____Combustion ____Decomposition

15.  Use the food chain to answer the following questions:

a) Identify the organisms that fall into each category (More than 1 organism may be in each):

______Producer

______Consumer

______Autotroph

______Heterotroph

______Herbivore

______Carnivore

b) What would happen if a disease killed most of the mice?

The amount of grass and grasshoppers would (increase / decrease).

The amount of owls would (increase / decrease).

c) About how much of the energy in the grasshoppers is transferred to the mice? ______

16.  Classify each of the following as a place where primary succession (PS) or secondary succession (SS) would occur:

____A new volcanic island forms ____An abandoned farm field ____A glacier melts leaving bare rock

____A forest burns in a fire ____An abandoned parking lot ____A forest is clear cut

Unit 5: Biomes

Essential questions:

·  How are ecosystems related to biomes?

·  Why does temperature limit which plants can grow in a certain biome?

·  How is latitude different from altitude? How do these factors affect the organisms that live in a biome?

·  What are the characteristics of the plants in each biome?

·  What are the characteristics of the animals in each biome?

·  How do humans utilize forest resources?

·  What are some threats to each biome?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Biome

·  Climate

·  Rain forest

·  Deciduous forest

·  Taiga

·  Temperate grassland

·  Savanna

·  Chaparral

·  Tundra

·  Desert

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

17.  Identify the biome that has each characteristic. The biomes may be used more than once:

BIOME
Has many nocturnal animals and animals with thick, scaly skin to prevent water loss
Permafrost
Dominated by grasses, shrubs and small trees; Climate is hot and dry except during the short rainy season
Forest biome that has trees with leaves that change colors in the fall and fall off the trees
Located in dry coastal areas; dominated by low-lying, evergreen shrubs that are adapted to frequent fires
The coldest forest biome; dominated by evergreen trees with needle like leaves
Dominated by succulent plants with thorns
Located in the central part of the United States; a large percentage of this biome has been turned into farmland
Large herds of herbivores like gazelles and zebras migrate in response to the rainy season; carnivores like lions and cheetahs follow the herds

Unit 6: Aquatic Ecosystems

Essential questions:

·  What do aquatic organisms need to live and grow?

·  What are the zones of a lake?

·  What aquatic ecosystems have the highest productivity? Why?

·  Why is algae important in aquatic ecosystems?

·  How can wetlands reduce damage caused by flooding?

·  Why is an estuary a very productive ecosystem?

·  What is the difference between a salt marsh and a mangrove swamp?

·  What are barrier islands and why are theyimportant?

·  How are coral reefs formed?

·  Why are Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems classified as marine ecosystems even though ice is freshwater?

·  What effect can runoff have on the health of organisms that live in and around a river?

·  What are the causes and effects of eutrophication?

·  How are humans impacting...

o  Lakes and ponds?

o  Rivers and streams?

o  Wetlands?

o  Oceans?

o  Coral reefs?

o  Mangroves?

o  Estuaries?

o  Coastal marshes?

o  Arctic & Antarctic ecosystems?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Salinity

·  Wetland

·  Florida Everglades

·  Plankton

·  Littoral zone

·  Benthic zone

·  Eutrophication

·  Estuary

·  Salt marsh

·  Mangrove swamp

·  Coral reef

·  Coral bleaching

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

18.  The salinity of ocean water is not the same everywhere. Where will the salinity be the lowest? ______

19.  What are the producers in Arctic ecosystems? ______

20.  What are some of the ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands such as salt marshes and mangrove swamps? ______

Unit 7: Populations

Essential questions:

·  What is a population?

·  What properties are used to describe a population?

·  What species have high reproductive potentials? What species have low reproductive potentials?

·  Under what conditions does exponential population growth take place?

·  What determines a population's carrying capacity?

·  What are density dependent population controls? What are density independent population controls?

·  What is the difference between an organism's niche and its habitat?

·  What are the five types of species interactions? Give an example of each.

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

·  Niche

·  Density

·  Density dependent

·  Density independent

·  Growth rate

·  Reproductive potential

·  Carrying capacity

·  Niche

·  Competition

·  Predation

·  Parasitism

·  Mutualism

·  Commensalism

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___

Practice:

21.  Classify each species interaction as either predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism or commensalism:

Species interaction
An insect eats nectar from a flower and spreads pollen
A lion kills and eats a gazelle
Two rainforest trees grow toward an opening in the canopy
A tick feeds on the blood of a deer
A remora fish eats the leftover food scraps from a shark’s meal

22.  Classify each type of population control as density-dependent (DD) or density-independent (DI):

____Infectious disease ____Hurricanes ____Deforesetation ____Predation ____Food supply

23.  Which of the following organisms has the lowest reproductive potential?______Which has the highest?______

Sea turtles, Bacteria, Humans, Rabbits, Fish

Unit 8: Human Population

Essential questions:

·  What is the study of populations?

·  What properties do demographers use to predict population sizes?

·  What are some differences between developed and developing countries?

·  Why has the human population increased so much in the past 200 years? What is the world's current population?

·  What are some important factors in determining life expectancy?

·  What are the stages of the demographic transition?

·  What are some problems caused by rapid population growth?

·  What is the shape of a population age structure diagram if the country's population is rapidly increasing? if it is slowly increasing? if it is decreasing?

·  What strategies can governments use to limit population growth?

·  What are the projections for future human population growth?

Key vocabulary:

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Ecology Semester 1 Exam Review Name______Date______Per___