AP Environmental Science Final Exam Already Solved

Succession - Answer -recovery after disaster Photosynthesis - Answer -the process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose Cellular Respiration - Answer -the process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy (ATP), carbon dioxide, and water Food Chain - Answer -the sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers Food Web - Answer -a complex model of how energy and matter move between trophic levels Detrivores - Answer -organisms that specialize in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles Decomposers - Answer -fungi or bacteria that recycle nutrients from dead tissues and wastes back into an ecosystem Gross Primary Productivity - Answer -the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time Net Primary Productivity - Answer -the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire Standing Crop - Answer -the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time Ecological Efficiency - Answer -the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another Biogeochemical Cycles - Answer -the movement of matter within and between ecosystems Macronutrients - Answer -the six key elements that organisms need in relatively large amounts: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and sulfur Limiting Nutrient - Answer -a nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in lower quantity than other nutrients Nitrogen Fixation - Answer -a process by which some organisms can convert nitrogen gas molecules directly into ammonia Leaching - Answer -the transportation of dissolved molecules through the soil via groundwater Resistance - Answer -a measure of how much a disturbance can affect flows of energy and matter in an ecosystem Resilience - Answer -the rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance Restoration Ecology - Answer -the study and implementation of restoring damaged ecosystems Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis - Answer -the hypothesis that ecosystems experiencing intermediate levels of disturbance are more diverse Instrumental Value - Answer -something that has worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal Intrinsic Value - Answer -something that has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans Provisions - Answer -goods that humans can use directly Population Ecology - Answer -the study of factors that cause populations to increase or decrease Carrying Capacity - Answer -the limit of how many individuals in a population the food supply can sustain Intrinsic Growth Rate - Answer -the maximum potential for growth of a population under ideal conditions with unlimited resources Exponential Growth Model - Answer a growth model that estimates a population's future size after a period of time, based on the intrinsic growth rate and the number of reproducing individuals currently in a population (J-shaped curve) Logistic Growth Model - Answer -a growth model that describes a population whose growth is initially exponential, but slows as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment (S-shaped curve) Corridors - Answer -strips of natural habitat that connect separated populations Metapopulation - Answer -groups of spatially distinct populations that are connected by occasional movements of individuals between them Community Ecology - Answer -the study of interactions between species Competitive Exclusion Principle - Answer -the principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist Resources Partitioning - Answer -a situation in which two species divide a resource, based on differences in their behavior or morphology Keystone Species - Answer -species that are far more important in their community than their relative abundance might suggest