PAPER 1: SECTION B: LIVING WORLD 1. ECOSYSTEMS Use the links given to you and you can use your exercise book – this is REVISION Missing work? Ask your teacher or borrow a book. Tables may need to be made bigger – check before you print. What is an ecosystem? An ecosystem includes all of the biotic (living) components (things) in an area interacting with each other and also with their abiotic (non-living) environments. Which of these 4 elements of an ecosystem are biotic and which are abiotic? What do lines on this diagram represent? Ecosystems can be a range of sizes. Put these ecosystems into size order in the table below: Desert Puddle Hedge/pond Woodland Scale (size) Ecosystem from the box above: 1
Transcript
PAPER 1: SECTION B: LIVING WORLD
1. ECOSYSTEMS
Use the links given to you and you can use your exercise book – this is REVISIONMissing work? Ask your teacher or borrow a book.
Tables may need to be made bigger – check before you print.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem includes all of the biotic (living) components (things) in an area interacting with each other and also with their abiotic (non-living) environments.
Which of these 4 elements of an ecosystem are biotic and which are abiotic?
What do lines on this diagram represent?
Ecosystems can be a range of sizes. Put these ecosystems into size order in the table below:
Desert Puddle Hedge/pond Woodland
Scale (size) Ecosystem from the box above:Micro (smallest)Meso (medium)Macro (large)Biome (global/largest)
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You need to be able to use a number of key terms in your examination. Find a definition for each of the following words (this link is the most useful): http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa_pre_2011/foodchains/foodchains1.shtml )
Key term Definition (meaning)Producers
Primary consumers
Secondary consumers
Scavengers
Decomposers
What is the difference between a food web and a food chain?
Nutrient cycling – how nutrients move around an ecosystem
Read the information on the diagram below. Add the following labels to the correct place:
Soil Biomass Litter (leaf litter)
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Use this diagram to answer these questions (look at the key):a) Name the three stores of nutrients (where nutrients are held):
b) How do nutrients get transferred from the soil to the biomass (organisms)?c) Give the two ways that nutrients get transferred into the litter (leaves on the floor)?
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2.d) Give the two ways nutrients get transferred into the soil?
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2.e) How do nutrients leave the soil?
f) How do nutrients leave the litter?
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Map to show the distribution of the world’s biomes (global ecosystems)
11. Use the map above to describe the location of each of the three biomes (global ecosystems).
Use these questions to help you organise your answer: Which line of latitude are they generally on? Which continents are they found in? Be specific; use compass directions or other key terms (e.g. coasts) to explain the location of tropical
rainforests in one of the continents.
Biome Description of location (where they are found)Tropical rainforest
Hot Desert
Temperate deciduous forest
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Tropic of Cancer
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
The characteristics of biomes (large scale natural global ecosystems): CLIMATE and SOILS
RAINFORESTS
12. Use the climate graph to describe the climates of rainforests.
a) Highest precipitation is ______mm
b) Lowest precipitation is ______mm
c) The most precipitation is found in the season _______________ (look up seasons here:http://www.foreignstudents.com/guide-to-britain/british-culture/weather/seasons)
d) The lowest temperature is _____˚c and the highest temperature is ____ ˚c. This is a ___________ (Small or large?)
range of ____ ˚c (subtract the smallest from the largest temperature).
13. Read the explanation of how the climate of a rainforest affects rainforest soils. Highlight/underline information you think is important for you to learn this information.
Rainforest soils are called LATOSOLS. Latosols are very deep (20 – 30 metres deep). At the top there is a thin black humus layer. The humus layer is the dark organic matter that forms in the soil
when plant and animal matter decays. Most of the nutrients in this soil are found in this top humus layer because dead leaves decay quickly in the
hot and humid conditions. The heavy rainfall dissolves and washes away these nutrients leaving an infertile soil. This is called leaching. The soil is a rusty orange colour because oxides of iron and aluminium remain in the soil after other minerals
have been washed out by leaching.
14. Use the information above to colour AND label a diagram of a latosol (rainforest soil). You can use the questions to help you.
15. Use the climate graph to describe the climates of rainforests.
a) Highest precipitation is ______mmb) Lowest precipitation is ______mmc) The least amount of precipitation is found in the season _______________ (look up seasons here:
http://www.foreignstudents.com/guide-to-britain/british-culture/weather/seasons)d) The lowest temperature is _____˚c and the highest temperature is ____ ˚c. This is a ___________(Small or
large?) range of ____ ˚c (subtract the smallest from the largest temperature).
16. Read the explanation of how the climate of a desert affects desert soils. Highlight/underline information you think is important for you to learn this information.
Desert soils tend to be sandy or stony with little organic matter (only a very thin humus layer at the top of this soil) because there is a lack of vegetation to drop their leaves.
It is very dry so vegetation that does drop to the floor does not rot very quickly. Any nutrients that do go into the soil are not leached (washed away) as there is so little rainfall.
Use the information (and your book) to draw out a soil profile in the box below. Hint: Annotate depth, layers, colours.
17. Match the climate feature with the correct description.
Climate feature Description for UK temperate deciduous forest
Precipitation Warm but not hot, about 17-18˚c
Summer temperatures Drier - usually 50 – 75mm per month.
Winter temperatures Cool but not cold, about 3-5˚c
Summer precipitation Wetter - usually around 20mm more than summer precipitation levels so 70 - 95mm per month.
Winter precipitation All year round.
18. Read the explanation of how the climate of temperate deciduous forests affects its soils. Highlight/underline information you think is important for you to learn this information.
Temperate deciduous soils are called brown earth soils. They are not as deep as latosols - 20-30 centimetres Brown earth soils have a deeper humus layer than latosols or desert soils because deciduous trees lose their
leaves in Autumn and then rot in the mild and wetter Winters. Some leaching does happen because of the wet climate but slower than the latosols. This means nutrients
are held in the soil so they are fairly fertile soils.
14. Use the information above to colour AND label a diagram of a brown earth soil. You can use the questions to help you.
