Biology: Glossary

Ecosystem/Biome- all the interacting parts of a biological community Population- group of organisms of the same species
Community- all the populations in an ecosystem (living part of a biome) Competiton-struggle amongst organisms for access 2 limitd resource
Decomposers- bacteria+fungi that break down dead material+waste & extract remaining nutrients Detrivores- consume dead material + waste
Commensalism- organisms interact, one benefits, one doesn’t benefit or get hurt Commons- any shared resource
Biological Oxygen Demand- amount of dissolved O2 needed by decomposers to break down organic matter in aquatic ecosystems ^BOD = v O2
^temp and nutrients = ^BOD ^dead fish=^decomposers=^BOD=v O2 = v fish Symbiosis- dif species living together
Succession- changes in structure of community over time Primary= bare rock never held life Secondary= after a natural disaster (restoration of
climax community) A climax community is a community that has reached a stable state with organisms very well adapted to the environment
Pioneer Organisms-organisms that can live in inhospitable places (without soil/shelter) and start succession (ie. lichens)
Phytoremediation- some plants act like natural sponges and can accumulate toxic metals in roots (planted and later harvested to remove toxins
from soil) Eutrophication- runoff excess fertilizer (N2) into water  increased surface plant growth  blocks sunlight for lower plants which
cant photosynthesize now and die  ^ decomposers v O2 ^BOD  fish die ( v fish) Environment- surroundings of an organism
Other
-Food chains just show a single path of what animals eat but food webs show how many animals and plants interact and are connected
-Factors affecting the physical environment: latitude, sunlight, proximity to oceans, mtns, etc. (LSP) -10% rule
-4 requirements for life: water, energy, nutrients, temp (WENT) –Ecological Footpint = Land/water occupied for living, waste, and resource
production -more organisms of lower trophic lvl exist cuz energy is used and so not enough energy for higher lvls
- pyramid of #’s (idea that number of organisms decreases as u go ^ trophic lvls) -N-M+I-E/st. pop x 100 = % growth rate
-energy flow (idea that energy available to organisms decreases as u go ^ trophic lvls)-biomass (idea that mass of organisms decreases as u go^
-larger animals are rarer than smaller ones cuz of living conditions, needing more food, and reproducing slower
–bioaccumulation is worse for ^ trophic lvls cuz we need to eat more primary consumers to be full and so it accumulates
-global warming leads to drought and relocates precip -4 most common elements = H2 O2 N2 and C2 HONC
Nitrogen Cycle*
F=Fixation= since organisms cant get N2 directly, first nitrogen fixing bacteria convert it N2 to NO3/NH4
N=Nitrification= organisms eventually die and are decomposed and nitrifying bacteria convert the remaining NH4 to NO3
D=Denitrification= finally, denitrifying bacteria convert NO3 back to N2
-nitrogen is critical nutrient to plants + animals
-most imp nitrogen fixing bacteria is Rhizobia which lives in legume root nodules
-too much N2 causes nitrogen saturation which is when excess N2 just washes off into ground water without being used (causes eutrophication)
Carbon Cycle* -6CO2 +6H2O + energy = 6O2 C6H12O6
Physics: -velocity describes speed and direction –vector- a physical quantity that has both size and direction speed-just speed scalar- phys.
Quant.just size-when drawing vectors have a north arrow, scale, and tail and head for each vector -9.8m/s2(down) = g or acceleration
Kinetic Molecular Theory- 1. Matter composed of molecules 2. Molecules in constant motion 3. When collide, energy transferred not lost
Weather: Glossary
^2°C/
Chinook- a warm, dry, very strong wind 100m
c= specific heat capacity (J/g °C) (heat energy required to increase the down
temperature of a unit quantity of a substance by a certain temp interval
Conduction-heat transfer through physical contact Q=amount of heat
Low Pressure System- cooler weather, unsettled weather, small
High Pressure System-large, clear skies, stable
Prevailing Westerlies-winds blowing from west to east in the temperate zones
Jet Stream- a ribbon of extremely fast-moving air near the top of the troposphere caused by contact between cold +warm air masses
Coriolis Effect- the influence of Earth’s rotation on air or any moving object on the Earth’s surface
Convection-heat transfer when hot air moves up, cools, sinks, heats up, and rises again Dew Point-tep when first dew forms
Radiation-heat transfer when heat emanates from an object through radiation rays and heats up another object though indirect contact
Relative Humidity- % of water vapour in air compared to amount if air was saturated Cloud-accumulation of water droplets
Upwelling- the rise of sea water from below to the surface (brings rich supply of nutrients which had settled at the bottom of ocean)
Troposphere-surface 10km weather and life exists here (very cold at 10km)Stratosphere- 10km50 km ozone layer (temp begins to rise after
10 km) Mesosphere- 50km  100 km meteors burn up here (temp begins to sink again )Thermosphere- 100km and up(very hot temps here)
Saturated Air-air containing as much water vapor as possible Humidity- amount of water vapor in the air Air Mass-large mass of air that is
practically uniform in temp & humidity El Nino- warming of eastern Pacific waters off South American coast occurring every few yrs caused by
reversal of trade wind direction btwn south Am, Australia, and Indonesia; afects world’s weather Temp-avg kintic enrgy of substance’s molecules
Other-Earth separated into three zones (polar, temperate, and tropical) -Q=mc∆t and Q=m∆H°vap or H®fus depending
Factors affecting global wind patterns= 1-earth’s spherical shape causes it to be more heated at equator versus poles 2- size of earth causes
rising air from equator to cool by 30° latitude 3- Earth’s rotation (Coriolis Effect) which causes air closer to equator to move faster than air at
pole. This causes “east-west” winds between 30° and 60° Rotation Shape and Size (RSS) –The telegraph made forecasting possible
-Hail forms when frozen raindrops form and in large cumulonimbus clouds winds swirl vertically. The wind carries the small hailstones back up
into the cloud and they collide with droplets in air which freeze to coat the hailstones
Humidity- psychrometer or hygrometer Atmospheric Pressure- measured in Pascals (P) by a barometer Wind Direction – wind vanes
Wind speed- measured by anemometers in km/h Precipitation- weather balloons or weather radars are used (measured in mm)
-Clouds are diff cuz of wind, temp, humidity -For a cloud to form, must be saturated air and condensation nuclei(small particles upon which
water vapour attaches to initiate condensation i.e. pollen, sea salt, dust
Cumulus (causes precip) Puffy, flat base, all levels convection currents/air masses meeting
Stratus (causes precip) Endless layers,shapeless,low level Air masses meeting pushed up mntn range/conduction with cool ground surface
Cirrus (no precip) horse tails swept by wind Made of ice crystals formed through deposition
Daytime, land hotter, water, cooler, sea breeze (from sea to land) Nightime = vice versa