All flashcards
Flashcard 1: What is the term for organisms that break down dead organisms and wastes into simpler matter?
Answer: Decomposers. These organisms recycle nutrients by breaking down organic matter.
Flashcard 2: Which organism is the primary consumer in this model: corn → mouse → owl?
Answer: Mouse. Mouse directly consumes the producer (corn) in this food chain.
Flashcard 3: Identify the decomposer in this set: mushroom, hawk, grass.
Answer: Mushroom. Mushrooms are fungi that break down dead organic material.
Flashcard 4: Which arrow direction correctly traces matter from plants to animals: plant → deer or deer → plant?
Answer: Plant → deer. Arrows show matter flowing from source (plant) to consumer (deer).
Flashcard 5: Choose the correct trace of carbon atoms: air CO2 → plant sugar → deer body.
Answer: Air CO2 → plant sugar → deer body. Carbon atoms move from atmospheric CO2 through plants to herbivores.
Flashcard 6: What term describes the building of new body parts using matter from food?
Answer: Growth. Organisms increase mass by incorporating matter from consumed food.
Flashcard 7: Which statement best describes what happens to plant matter when an animal eats the plant?
Answer: Matter moves into the animal and becomes part of its body or waste. Consumed plant molecules are digested and incorporated into animal tissues.
Flashcard 8: In a food chain model, what do arrows show about movement between organisms?
Answer: Direction of matter and energy transfer. Arrows point from eaten organism to eater, showing flow of nutrients.
Flashcard 9: What is the main sugar made by plants that becomes food matter for animals?
Answer: Glucose (sugar). C6H12O6 is the primary energy storage molecule made by plants.
Flashcard 10: Which substance absorbed by roots supplies hydrogen atoms used to build plant sugars?
Answer: Water. H2O molecules split during photosynthesis, providing hydrogen for glucose.
Flashcard 11: Which gas from the air is the main source of carbon atoms in a plant’s sugars?
Answer: Carbon dioxide. CO2 provides the carbon backbone for organic molecules in plants.
Flashcard 12: What process do plants use to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water?
Answer: Photosynthesis. Plants combine CO2 and H2O using sunlight to create glucose.
Flashcard 13: What is the term for an organism that must eat other organisms to get matter and energy?
Answer: Consumer. Consumers cannot produce their own food and depend on other organisms.
Flashcard 14: What is the term for an organism that makes its own food using sunlight?
Answer: Producer. Producers convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
Flashcard 15: What is the best definition of matter in a food chain model?
Answer: Anything that has mass and takes up space. Matter is the physical substance that makes up all living and non-living things.
Flashcard 16: What is the main role of decomposers in recycling matter in an ecosystem model?
Answer: Return nutrients to the soil and environment. Decomposition releases minerals and nutrients for producer uptake.
Flashcard 17: Which part of a plant is most directly eaten by many herbivores in food chain models?
Answer: Leaves. Leaves contain high nutrient content and are easily accessible to herbivores.
Flashcard 18: Which option best identifies where most of an animal’s body mass ultimately comes from?
Answer: Matter in the food it eats (plants or other animals). Animals build their bodies from molecules obtained through their diet.
Flashcard 19: Which option is a correct matter path: CO2 → plant sugar → deer muscle or deer muscle → plant sugar → CO2?
Answer: CO2 → plant sugar → deer muscle. Matter flows from air to plants to herbivores.
Flashcard 20: Identify the correct direction of matter flow in a food chain arrow: from eaten to eater, or eater to eaten?
Answer: From eaten organism to eater. Arrows point toward the organism receiving the matter.
Flashcard 21: Which option correctly traces matter: plant leaf matter → rabbit body matter or rabbit → plant?
Answer: Plant leaf matter → rabbit body matter. Matter flows from food source to consumer when eaten.
Flashcard 22: What is a consumer in a matter-tracing model?
Answer: An organism that gets matter by eating others. Consumers must eat to obtain organic matter for growth.
Flashcard 23: What is a producer in a matter-tracing model?
Answer: An organism that makes its own food (a plant). Producers convert inorganic matter into organic matter.
Flashcard 24: What do food webs model that a single food chain does not?
Answer: Many connected feeding relationships. Shows how organisms have multiple food sources and predators.
Flashcard 25: What do food chains model about matter in an ecosystem?
Answer: How matter moves from organism to organism. Arrows show matter transfer through eating relationships.
Flashcard 26: What are the products in photosynthesis (materials plants make and release)?
Answer: Glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (O2). Sugar stores energy; oxygen is released as a byproduct.
Flashcard 27: What is the main source of matter that builds a plant’s body (stems, leaves, roots)?
Answer: Carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. Plants convert CO2 into sugars that become their structure.
Flashcard 28: What process moves matter from air and water into plant sugars?
Answer: Photosynthesis. This process converts inorganic matter into organic sugars.
Flashcard 29: Which model best traces matter from plants to animals: energy pyramid or food chain with arrows?
Answer: Food chain with arrows. Arrows explicitly show matter movement between organisms.
Flashcard 30: Which plant structure takes in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air?
Answer: Leaves (through stomata). Stomata are tiny pores that allow gas exchange.