Bell Ringer – AP Practice
1) Reasons that the population size of an exotic
species often grows rapidly when the species is
introduced in a new environment include
which of the following?
i. The exotic species is resistant to pesticides
ii. There is a large, underutilized food source in the
new environment
iii. The exotic species has few natural predators in the
new environment
a) i only
c) i and iii only
e) i, ii and iii
b) ii only
d) ii and iii only
2) Which answer below explains a trophic
cascade from the food chain?
a) The frog acquires energy from eating
grasshoppers
b) The population of snakes is dependent
upon the population of frogs as a food source
c) The population of grasshoppers is related to
the population of hawks
d) Based upon the 10%
rule, the hawk will only
get 0.01% of the original
amount of energy.
3) A keystone species…
a) Has the largest population abundance
b) Has the largest habitat
c) Has a large influence upon energy movement
in an ecosystem
d) Forms the base trophic level
e) A and C
4) An aquifer is …
a) The entire area of land from which water
drains
b) The uppermost portion of an underground
water source
c) An underground source of water found in a
sponge-like layer of rock and soil
d) All the water found on the surface of the
earth, including salt water
e) All the life found on earth
Bottle Ecosystem
Day 1
Objectives – Day 1
• Cut all bottles to size and label
• Prepare the aquatic chamber
Biogeochemical Cycles
pgs 186-198
Biogeochemical Cycles
• All nutrients move through ecosystems by
various processes, known collectively as
biogeochemical cycles.
• The most important biogeochemical cycles
include:
– Hydrologic cycle
– Carbon cycle
– Nitrogen cycle
– Phosphorus Cycle
The Hydrologic Cycle
• Water is vital to life on earth and is involved in
nearly every ecosystem and biogeochemical
cycle.
• The Hydrologic Cycle describes how water
moves through an ecosystem.
• The movement of water is dependent upon
chemical changes which allow it to be either a
solid, liquid or gas.
Evaporation and Transpiration
• Most water on earth is found within reservoirs
(such as the ocean).
• Liquid water moves from these reservoirs into
the atmosphere (in gaseous form) through the
process of evaporation.
Evaporation and Transpiration
• Evaporation rates are increased with
- high temperatures
- high winds
- greater exposure (cleared areas)
Evaporation and Transpiration
• Water also enters the atmosphere through the
process of transpiration – the release of water
vapor by plants through their leaves.
Precipitation and Runoff
• Water vapor in the atmosphere condenses to
form clouds – eventually coming back to earth
in the form of precipitation.
Precipitation and Runoff
• Some precipitation is taken up by plants or
used by animals, but much of it flows as
runoff into streams, rivers, etc. – eventually
reaching the ocean again.
Groundwater
• Water from aquifers reenters the hydrologic
cycle as humans extract water for drinking or
as water tables rise to the surface, allowing
water to be evaporated or to runoff into larger
sources.
Illustrate a simple example of the Hydrologic Cycle
(label evaporation, transpiration, precipitation,
runoff and aquifers)
Bell Ringer
1) In the diagram of the water cycle below,
“A” is _______,
“B” is ________,
“C” is ________,
and “E” is ______
Bell Ringer
2) In the water cycle diagram, “F” is representing
a ____________, while “D” is representing
an ____________
Bell Ringer – AP Practice
3) All of the following are heterotrophs except…
a) Vulture
b) Bacteria
c) Moss
d) Human
e) Mushroom
4) Which of the following trophic levels has the most
biomass?
a) Producer
b) Primary consumer
c) Secondary consumer
d) Decomposer
e) Tertiary consumer
Bottle Ecosystem
Day 2
More Biogeochemical Cycles
The Phosphorus Cycle
• Phosphorus is an important nutrient, making
up a key component of cell membranes and
found in such important molecules as DNA,
RNA, ATP and ADP.
The Phosphorus Cycle
• Although phosphorus is required for life
processes, this nutrient is found mostly
outside the body: in rocks, soil and the ocean.
The Phosphorus Cycle
• Unlike the other biogeochemical cycles (water,
nitrogen and carbon), this cycle has no
appreciable atmospheric component.
• The only time phosphorus enters the
atmosphere is if the wind carries the nutrients
from one area to another.
Step 1: Weathering
• The vast majority of the earth’s phosphorus is
in the form of rock and is released by
weathering.
• Phosphate ions (PO43-) are
released by weathering
and enter water systems.
Step 2: Dissolving
• Phosphate ions that enter lakes or oceans
settle to the bottom to form sediment – the
precursor to more rock.
Lack of Phosphorus
• Because most phosphorus is found in rock,
there is very little environmental
concentrations available to organisms.
• This explains why phosphorus
is frequently a limiting factor
for plant growth (and why it
is included in most fertilizers).
Step 3: Phosphorus in Living Things
• Plants take up phosphorus through their roots
only when phosphates are dissolved in water.
• Primary consumers acquire phosphorus from
water and plants, passing it on to secondary
and tertiary consumers.
• Phosphorus is passed out of living things
through the excretion of waste – decomposers
break down the waste, returning the
phosphorus to the soil.
Step 3: Phosphorus in Living Things
Human Affects on the Phosphorus Cycle
• Humans influence the P-cycle by:
– Mining for phosphorus from rocks
– Applying phosphorus to lawns, crops in fertilizers
– Wastewater is rich in phosphates
– Most detergents are high in phosphates
• Excess phosphates entering waterways can
lead to eutrophication, altering aquatic
ecosystems.
Make a Sketch of the P – Cycle
Bell Ringer
1) The biggest reservoir of phosphorus is…
a) The ocean
b) Within rocks
c) Within plants
d) The atmosphere
e) Within cells
2) Which answer below does NOT add
phosphorus to the atmosphere?
a) The use of detergents
b) Human wastewater
c) Mining
d) Weathering
e) Photosynthesis
3) Starting at a plant, put the steps of the
hydrologic cycle in the correct order:
Precipitation, transpiration, condensation,
runoff
4) In your own words, describe the edge effect.
Bottle Ecosystem
Day 3
More Biogeochemical Cycles
The Carbon Cycle
• All living things on earth are carbon-based;
this element can be found in carbohydrates,
fats and proteins.
• Carbon can be found all around us – from
fossil fuels to DNA to plastic.
Step 1 - Photosynthesis
• Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is used by
plants to create sugar (glucose) through the
process of photosynthesis.
Step 2 – Respiration
• Cellular respiration is used by all organisms
(including autotrophs) to create ATP from
sugar. This process releases carbon dioxide
back into the atmosphere.
Photo and Resp
• Photosynthesis and Respiration make their
own cycle – each producing products that the
other process needs to begin.
Carbon Storage
• Some carbon used by organisms is stored
within that organism, incorporated into its
tissues.
• Plants take in much carbon dioxide for
photosynthesis – making autotrophs a major
carbon reservoir.
Carbon Storage
• Some carbon used by organisms is stored
within that organism, incorporated into its
tissues.
• Plants take in much carbon dioxide for
photosynthesis – making autotrophs a major
carbon reservoir.
• Because carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, it
is even more important that major tracts of
trees and plants remain undisturbed as they
have the capability of deflating the effects of
global warming.
Carbon Storage
• Sedimentary rock is the largest carbon
reservoir on earth.
• As organisms die, they become sediments
which, over long periods of heat and pressure,
can be transformed into carbon containing
rock (such as coal and limestone).
Carbon Storage
• Carbon molecules in the atmosphere spend a
relatively short time there; carbon molecules
trapped in rock may reside there for millions
of years.
• The burning of carbon-containing rocks (such
as coal) re-releases this carbon into the
atmosphere.
Carbon Storage
• Oceans represent the second biggest carbon
reservoir.
• Oceans absorb carbon-containing compounds
from the atmosphere, from terrestrial runoff
and from the waste of marine life.
The Human Effect
• An increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
has accelerated global climate change.
• Human actions can remove carbon from
reservoirs, forcing it to accumulate in the
atmosphere. These actions include:
– The burning of fossil fuels (coal, gasoline, etc.)
– Removing vegetation/forests which taken in and store
carbon dioxide.