Energy Flow in the Biosphere

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Questions and Answers

What would be the primary consequence of disease eliminating the elk population in a terrestrial ecosystem?

Increase in the number of smaller mammals and birds

Increase in the population of apex predators

Higher competition among herbivores for food resources

Decrease in plant diversity due to grazing pressure reduction (correct)

What does a pyramid of biomass represent in an ecosystem?

The dry mass of living or once-living organisms per unit area at each trophic level (correct)

The energy available at each trophic level

The reproductive rate of organisms in different trophic levels

The total number of organisms at each trophic level

Why are pyramids of energy always upright?

Energy transfer is inefficient, resulting in less energy at higher trophic levels. (correct)

Pyramids are based solely on the number of organisms present.

Higher trophic levels consume more energy than they produce.

They represent the maximum biomass at higher trophic levels.

Which of the following is true about pyramids of numbers?

They represent the relative numbers of organisms at each trophic level. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What type of ecological pyramid is affected by the balance between reproduction and consumption of phytoplankton?

Pyramid of biomass (A) Signup and view all the answers

What defines the biosphere as a system?

It supports life through energy exchange with its surroundings. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which part of the Earth encompasses all water in solid and liquid forms?

Hydrosphere (A) Signup and view all the answers

What type of system allows for both energy and matter exchange?

Open system (D) Signup and view all the answers

How is thermal energy primarily transmitted through the biosphere?

Through radiation, conduction, and convection (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following components is mostly concentrated within 10 km of Earth’s surface?

Atmosphere (C) Signup and view all the answers

In what system are energy and matter not exchanged?

Isolated system (D) Signup and view all the answers

What happens to radiation if it is absorbed by matter?

It increases the kinetic energy of particles. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What characterizes a closed system in terms of energy and matter?

Only energy is exchanged, but not matter. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary process by which solar energy is converted into chemical potential energy?

Photosynthesis (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of organisms primarily performs chemosynthesis?

Chemoautotrophs (D) Signup and view all the answers

In terms of energy transfer, what percentage is typically passed from one trophic level to the next?

10% (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?

Recycle inorganic matter (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a trophic level in an ecosystem?

Detritivores (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which organisms are primarily at the first trophic level in a food chain?

Producers (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is entropy as described by the Second Law of Thermodynamics?

A measure of disorder in a system (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which category do primary consumers belong to in the food chain?

Herbivores (C) Signup and view all the answers

What process do plants primarily undergo to produce energy in the presence of light?

Photosynthesis (C) Signup and view all the answers

How are energy-storing and energy-releasing processes balanced within an ecosystem?

Through energy transfer between producers and consumers (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which organisms are considered the primary producers in food chains?

Autotrophs (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the correct term for organisms that consume both producers and consumers?

Omnivores (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which level of the food chain typically has the least amount of energy available?

Tertiary consumers (A) Signup and view all the answers

What defines a food web compared to a food chain?

Complex energy connections among food chains (B) Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Energy Flow Through the Biosphere

The biosphere encompasses all life-supporting areas on Earth, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
The atmosphere is Earth's gaseous envelope, primarily composed of nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, extending many kilometers above the surface.
The lithosphere comprises Earth's solid, rocky portion.
The hydrosphere encompasses all water, both liquid and solid, found on Earth.
Systems can be categorized as open, closed, or isolated.
- Open systems exchange energy and matter with their surroundings.
- Closed systems exchange energy but not matter.
- Isolated systems exchange neither energy nor matter.
The biosphere is an open system, exchanging energy and matter with its surroundings.
Energy transfer in biosphere occurs via radiation, conduction, and convection.
- Radiation transmits energy as electromagnetic waves.
- Conduction involves thermal energy transfer through direct particle contact.
- Convection involves thermal energy transfer through the movement of particles.
The primary energy source for Earth is the Sun. Some solar radiation is reflected, some absorbed and radiated as heat and a tiny amount is used in photosynthesis.
The one-way flow of energy through the biosphere adheres to the laws of thermodynamics.
The first law states that energy is conserved, not created or destroyed; only transformed.
The second law dictates that entropy (disorder) always increases in an isolated system, meaning that some energy is lost as heat with each transfer.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Energy flows from producers to consumers, through the living components in the biosphere.
The flow is a series of energy transfers, with some energy lost as heat in each transfer. Heat eventually radiates into space.
Photosynthesis uses solar energy to create chemical energy in producers (autotrophs).
Chemosynthesis uses chemical energy to create chemical energy in some organisms (e.g., deep-sea vent organisms).
- Chemoautotrophs are essential in environments lacking sunlight.
Cellular respiration releases energy stored in glucose.
Cellular respiration is crucial for organisms and decomposing/recycling organic matter.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Producers are organisms able to create their own food (e.g., plants and phytoplankton and some bacteria).
Consumers are organisms consuming producers or other consumers (e.g., herbivores, carnivores, omnivores).
Decomposers consume dead organic matter and waste, recycling nutrients.
Trophic levels represent feeding positions in an ecosystem.
- Producers constitute the first trophic level.
- Consumers form higher trophic levels based on their diets. Tertiary and quaternary levels exist depending on diet.
Food chains represent a linear transfer of energy through trophic levels.
Food webs represent the complex network of energy transfers in an ecosystem.
A larger more complicated food web correlates to a stable ecosystem.
Transfer of energy through the levels of a food chain or web is never 100%. Energy lost at each phase.

Ecological Pyramids

Ecological pyramids depict the relationship of energy flow through trophic levels.
Pyramids of numbers illustrate the number of organisms at each trophic level.
Pyramids of biomass represent the biomass at each level. Biomass being the mass of living matter.
Pyramids of energy graphically represent the energy available in the organisms at each trophic level.
Ecological pyramids are always upright because energy decreases as trophic levels increase.

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Description

Explore the various components of the biosphere, including the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere. Understand how energy flows through different systems and the methods of energy transfer such as radiation, conduction, and convection. This quiz delves into the interactions among these systems and their roles in sustaining life on Earth.