Unit 1B - The Living World

• define 'ecosystem'

  includes the biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) parts of an area
• define 'producers'


  uses sunlight energy to produce food
• define 'consumers'


  gets energy by eating other organisms
• define 'decomposers'

  gets energy by breaking down dead material, e.g. bacteria is a decomposer
• what does the nutrient cycle show?

  how nutrients move through an ecosystem
• what do food chains show?

  what eats what
• what do food webs show?

  lots of food chains and how they overlap
• what are the 7 main types of ecosystem?


  tundra

  grassland

  boreal forest

  tropical forest

  temperature deciduous forest

  polar

  hot desert
• what's the climate like in the tundra?

  winter cold

  summer brief

  little rainfall
• what are the 2 types of grassland?

  savannah and temperate
• what's the climate like in the grassland?

  savannah - dry and wet seasons, low rainfall

  temperate - variation in temperature, even less rainfall, no trees
• what's the climate like in the boreal forest?

  winter cold and dry

  summer mild and moist
• what's the climate like in the temperate deciduous forest?


  summer warm

  winters mild

  rainfall all year
• what's the climate like in the tropical rainforest?

  hot and wet all year round
• what's the climate like in the hot desert?

  little rainfall

  very hot during the day, very cold at night
• what's the climate like in the polar?

  cold

  icy

  dry
• what are the plants like in tropical rainforests?

  most trees evergreen

  tall trees block sunlight

  lots of epiphytes
• what is the soil like in tropical rainforests?


  not very fertile
• what are the animals like in tropical rainforests?

  many species

  many insects and birds also
• what are the people like in tropical rainsforests?


  many indigenous people

  make life by hunting and growing vegetation
• what effect does deforestation have on biodiversity?

  puts an end to it
• what relationship have plants and animals formed?

  symbiotic relationships
• how have plants and animals adapted to physical conditions?


  tall trees

  drip tips

  smooth, think bark

  buttress roots
• how are animals adapted to finding food and escaping predators?

  camouflaged

  sharp sense of smell

  suction cups

  able to swim
• give biotic examples of the school pond

  animals

  vegetations
• give abiotic examples of the school pond

  soil, 02
• give examples of inputs in the school pond


  suns energy

  litter

  precipitation
• give examples of outputs in the school pond

  CO2. 02, evapotranspiration
• for what reasons is the amazon being deforested?


  commercial farming

  subsistence farming

  commercial logging

  mineral extraction

  energy development

  population growth

  road building
• what is commercial farming?

  forest cleared to make space for cattle grazing or plantations
• what is subsistence farming?

  forest cleared for farmers who need to grow things to survive
• why does commercial logging happen?


  the forest is full of valuable trees
• why is energy development an issue?

  hydroelectric dams flood the forest
• why does population growth contribute to deforestation?

  poor people are offered land in the forest
• what environmental impacts does deforestation have?

  climate change

  social erosion
• why is climate change caused by deforestation?


  trees remove co2 from the atmosphere

  75%of Brazil's co2 emissions comes from the amazon
• why is soil erosion caused by deforestation?

  brazil is losing lots of topsoil. This may lead to landslides and flooding
• what economic opportunities has deforestation brought?


  farming has brough wealth

  creates jobs

  logging contributes to brazil's economy
• what efforts have been made to reduce deforestation?

  costa rica made unauthorised deforestation illegal

  global awareness
• what actions have increased rates of deforestation?


  the environment budget was cut, making it easier to deforest in the amazon