The ______ is the name given to the parts of the earth which contain living organisms.
biosphere
The study of the biosphere is called ______
ecology
The earth is a biosphere which can be divided up into ____ ________.
many ecosystems
An ecosystem is made up of ______ and ______ and the place where they live.
animals and plants
The place where an organism lives is known as its ______
habitat
Examples of ecosystems are:
a forest, a pond, the sea
In order to study an ecosystem it is often important to find out about the ______ and _____ of organisms found there.
number
types
because it is usually very difficult to count all the organisms present, ________ _______ are used so that the number and types of organisms present can be estimated
sampling techniques
Sampling techniques include:
quadrats, and pitfall traps
A ______ is a square-shaped frame of known area which is usually divided into smaller squares
quadrat
A ______ can be used to estimate the number of plants in an ecosystem
quadrat
For reliable results from a quadrat: (4points)
should be thrown several times,
should be thrown at random,
area should be known
size of the area being investigated should be known
A quadrat can also be used to measure the ________ of different plants in an area. This allows us to compare the amounts of different plants present.
abundance
A ______ ____ is a method of sampling the animals present on the floor of a forest or wood.
pitfall trap
For best results using a pitfall trap:
set up several traps
check traps regularly
cover the top of the trap
Once organisms have been collected they can be identified by using ________ ___
biological keys
There are two types of key:
a branched key
a paired statement key
There are many factors in an ecosystem that can affect the _________ of organisms
distribution
Aboitic factors include:
light intensity
moisture
temperature
pH
Light intensity and moisture content can be measured easily using a __________. This meter contains a light sensor and a moisture probe & two scales:
light intensity uses scale
moisture meter uses scale
light/ moisture meter
A-H
1-10
Ways to minimise errors when using the moisture probe:
1)moisture probe may still contain moisture from previous reading.
2)moisture probe may hit a stone.
dry the probe thoroughly before each reading.
remove the probe and enter close to the previous point.
Ways to minimise errors when using the light sensor:
1)shadows between the light source and light meter
2)light intensity is different at different times of the day
ensure there is no shadows covering the light meter