Exam 1 – Study Guide question and answers

Exam 1 – Study Guide Chapter 1 Introduction Environment –Immediate surroundings, comes from the greek word ‘oikos’ meaning house. Ecology – the science by which we study how organisms interact in and with the natural world. Ecosystem – large and complex ecological system, sometimes including many thousands of different kinds of organisms living in a great variety of individual surroundings.  All obey similar principles regarding o Physical and chemical attributes o Regulation of their structure and function o Evolutionary change Organism – the most fundamental unit of ecology, the elemental ecological system Biosphere – Includes all the environments and the organisms on earth. Population – Consists of many organisms of the same kind living together. Properties include:  Geographic Ranges  Densities ( number of individuals per unit of area)  Variations in size or composition (evolutionary responses to environmental change and periodic cycles of numbers of numbers) Community – Many populations of different kinds living in the same place. Organismal Roles in an Ecosystem  Plants/Photosynthesizers o Plants and other photosynthetic organisms use the energy of sunlight to synthesize organic molecules from carbon dioxide and water. On land, most plants have structures with large exposed surfaces – their leaves to capture the energy of sunlig