Biology Flashcards: Interpret Matter And Energy Cycles

What this deck covers

This deck focuses on Interpret Matter And Energy Cycles, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for Biology.

How to use these flashcards

Work through these flashcards in short sessions. Try to answer each prompt before flipping the card, then revisit any cards you miss until the explanation feels automatic.

Flashcard 1: What does net primary productivity (NPP) represent in ecosystem energy equations?

Answer: Energy stored as biomass after producer respiration. Energy remaining in plant biomass after subtracting metabolic energy costs.

Flashcard 2: What is the typical ecological efficiency between trophic levels in energy pyramids?

Answer: About $10\%$ transfer to the next trophic level. Rule of thumb for energy transfer efficiency in food chains.

Flashcard 3: In phosphorus-cycle diagrams, what is sedimentation?

Answer: Phosphate settling and forming sediments/rock over time. Phosphate removal from water through particle settling forms future rock deposits.

Flashcard 4: What is the law of conservation of energy as used in ecosystem energy diagrams?

Answer: Energy is transformed, not created or destroyed. First law of thermodynamics applied to ecosystem energy flow and transformations.

Flashcard 5: What do arrows usually represent in matter-cycle diagrams (for example, carbon cycle)?

Answer: Direction of matter transfer between reservoirs. Shows movement of matter from one storage pool to another in the cycle.

Flashcard 6: What do arrows usually represent in energy-flow diagrams (for example, food webs)?

Answer: Direction of energy transfer between trophic levels. Indicates energy transfer from one feeding level to the next higher level.

Flashcard 7: What is the balanced overall equation for photosynthesis?

Answer: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$. Light energy converts six molecules each of $CO_2$ and water into glucose.

Flashcard 8: What is the balanced overall equation for aerobic cellular respiration?

Answer: $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O$. Glucose is oxidized using oxygen to release energy, water, and $CO_2$.

Flashcard 9: What does a box or pool in a cycle diagram usually represent?

Answer: A reservoir where matter is stored. Represents locations where matter accumulates and is temporarily stored.

Flashcard 10: Which process moves carbon from dead organisms into long-term soil carbon pools?

Answer: Decomposition by decomposers. Microorganisms break down dead tissue, converting it to stable soil carbon.

Flashcard 11: What is combustion in the carbon cycle?

Answer: Burning biomass or fossil fuels releasing $CO_2$. Chemical reaction that rapidly oxidizes carbon compounds, releasing stored carbon.

Flashcard 12: Which carbon reservoir is typically the largest on Earth?

Answer: Sedimentary rocks and marine sediments. Geological formations store carbon for millions of years as calcium carbonate.

Flashcard 13: What does arrow thickness commonly indicate in cycle diagrams?

Answer: Relative magnitude of the flux or transfer rate. Thicker arrows represent faster or larger magnitude transfers between pools.

Flashcard 14: What is the difference between a reservoir and a flux in a matter-cycle diagram?

Answer: Reservoir stores matter; flux is the transfer between stores. Static storage versus dynamic movement distinguishes these diagram components.

Flashcard 15: What is the law of conservation of matter as used in biogeochemical cycles?

Answer: Atoms are rearranged; total matter is conserved. Fundamental principle that atoms cannot be created or destroyed in chemical reactions.

Flashcard 16: What process releases phosphate from rocks into soil and water?

Answer: Weathering and erosion. Physical and chemical breakdown of rocks releases phosphate into the environment.

Flashcard 17: What is the key reason phosphorus cycles lack a major atmospheric component?

Answer: Phosphorus does not have a common gaseous form. Phosphorus compounds are not volatile, limiting atmospheric transport mechanisms.

Flashcard 18: What is the primary biological process that removes $CO_2$ from the atmosphere?

Answer: Photosynthesis. Plants use light energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into glucose.

Flashcard 19: What is the primary biological process that releases $CO_2$ to the atmosphere?

Answer: Cellular respiration. Organisms break down glucose using oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide as waste.

Flashcard 20: What is carbon fixation in the carbon cycle context?

Answer: Conversion of inorganic $CO_2$ into organic molecules. Process that incorporates atmospheric $CO_2$ into organic biomolecules.

Flashcard 21: What is the main pathway by which carbon enters food webs?

Answer: Producers fixing $CO_2$ during photosynthesis. Primary producers capture atmospheric $CO_2$ and make it available to consumers.

Flashcard 22: What is transpiration in the water cycle?

Answer: Water vapor loss from plant leaves. Plants release water vapor through leaf pores during gas exchange.

Flashcard 23: If producers store $10{,}000\ \text{kJ}$, what energy is expected in primary consumers at $10\%$ transfer?

Answer: $1000\ \text{kJ}$. Apply 10% efficiency rule: $10{,}000 \times 0.10 = 1000$ kJ transferred.

Flashcard 24: Calculate $GPP$ if $NPP = 500$ and $R = 300$ (same units).

Answer: $800$. Add respiration to net productivity: $500 + 300 = 800$.

Flashcard 25: Calculate $NPP$ if $GPP = 2000$ and $R = 800$ (same units).

Answer: $1200$. Subtract respiration from gross productivity: $2000 - 800 = 1200$.

Flashcard 26: What is the largest nitrogen reservoir on Earth in nitrogen-cycle diagrams?

Answer: The atmosphere as $N_2$. Vast atmospheric pool contains about 78% nitrogen as unreactive dinitrogen gas.

Flashcard 27: What does net primary productivity (NPP) represent in ecosystem energy equations?

Answer: Energy stored as biomass after producer respiration. Energy remaining in plant biomass after subtracting metabolic energy costs.

Flashcard 28: State the equation that relates GPP, respiration, and NPP.

Answer: $NPP = GPP - R$. Net productivity equals gross productivity minus respiratory energy losses.

Flashcard 29: Choose the word that correctly completes: Matter is   in ecosystems; energy is  .

Answer: recycled; flows one-way and dissipates as heat. Matter cycles through ecosystems while energy flows through and exits as heat.

Flashcard 30: What is evaporation in the water cycle?

Answer: Liquid water changing to water vapor. Heat energy causes water molecules to transition from liquid to gas phase.