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complete study guide
Unit 1:
Scientific method
A series of steps followed to solve problems including collecting data, formulating a hypothesis, and stating conclusions
Water cycle
Nitrogen cycle
Carbon cycle
Geosphere
Hydrosphere
Biosphere
Evaporation
Condensation
Precipitation
Plate tectonics
Ring of Fire
Volcano
What is the biggest influence on climates?
What are the three types of volcanoes?
What are the three classifications of volcanoes?
Unit 2:
Biodiversity
Biome
Latitude
Longitude
Altitude
Phylogenetic tree
Endemic species
Threatened species
Endangered species
Invasive species
Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
Invertebrates
Vertebrates
Eutrophication
Endangered Species Act
List the order of classification of organisms from largest (domain) to smallest (species).
Unit 3:
Primary succession
Secondary succession
Climax community
Autotrophs
Heterotrophs
Food chain
Food web
Niche
Mutualism
Predation/parasitism
Competition
Commensalism
Symbiosis
Demography
Fertility rate
Life expectancy
Immigration
Emigration
What are the four factors used in forecasting population sizes?
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Here’s a complete, concise study guide for Units 1–3 with key definitions, answers to the explicit questions, and short examples where helpful.
Unit 1 — Earth systems, cycles & geology
- Scientific method — A systematic process for investigating questions: make observations, ask a question, do background research, form a hypothesis, design and run experiments, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate results. Repeat and refine as needed.
- Water cycle — Movement of water through evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff and groundwater flow.
- Nitrogen cycle — Movement of nitrogen through fixation (N2 → usable forms by bacteria or lightning), nitrification (ammonium → nitrates), assimilation by organisms, ammonification (organic N → ammonium), and denitrification (back to N2).
- Carbon cycle — Carbon moves between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere via photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, ocean exchange, and combustion (fossil fuel burning).
- Geosphere — The solid Earth: rocks, minerals, soil, crust/mantle/core.
- Hydrosphere — All water on or near Earth’s surface: oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice.
- Biosphere — All living organisms and the ecosystems they form.
- Evaporation — Liquid water turning into water vapor (energy absorbing).
- Condensation — Water vapor cooling and becoming liquid droplets (cloud formation).
- Precipitation — Water falling from the atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Plate tectonics — Theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into moving plates; interactions cause earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes, and seafloor spreading.
- Ring of Fire — A major zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the Pacific Ocean plate boundaries.
- Volcano — An opening in Earth’s crust where magma, ash and gases erupt. Can form mountains or islands.
- What is the biggest influence on climates? — The Sun (specifically the amount of solar radiation received), which is primarily controlled by latitude (angle of sunlight). So latitude (and Earth’s tilt) is the major geographic control.
- What are the three types of volcanoes? — Shield volcanoes (broad, gentle slopes, low-viscosity lava), cinder cone volcanoes (small, steep cones from pyroclastic material), and composite/stratovolcanoes (tall, steep, alternating lava and ash layers).
- What are the three classifications of volcanoes? — Active (erupting or likely to erupt), Dormant (not currently erupting but could in future), Extinct (not expected to erupt again).
Unit 2 — Ecology & biodiversity
- Biodiversity — Variety of life at genetic, species and ecosystem levels.
- Biome — Large area defined by climate and dominant vegetation (e.g., desert, tropical rainforest, tundra).
- Latitude — Distance north or south of the equator; strongly affects climate and sunlight.
- Longitude — Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian; used for location, time zones.
- Altitude — Height above sea level; affects temperature and pressure — higher altitude usually colder.
- Phylogenetic tree — A branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships among species or groups.
- Endemic species — Species native to and found only in a specific location (e.g., lemurs of Madagascar).
- Threatened species — Species likely to become endangered in the near future.
- Endangered species — Species at serious risk of extinction across all or a significant portion of its range.
- Invasive species — Non-native species that spread widely and harm native ecosystems, economies, or human health (e.g., zebra mussels).
- Biotic factors — Living parts of an ecosystem (plants, animals, microbes).
- Abiotic factors — Nonliving environmental factors (temperature, water, pH, sunlight, soil).
- Invertebrates — Animals without a backbone (e.g., insects, mollusks, crustaceans).
- Vertebrates — Animals with a backbone (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).
- Eutrophication — Nutrient enrichment (often N and P) of aquatic systems leading to algal blooms, oxygen depletion and fish kills.
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) — U.S. law (1973) that protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats; includes listing species, critical habitat designation, and recovery planning.
- List the order of classification of organisms from largest (domain) to smallest (species):
- Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species
Unit 3 — Communities, interactions & population dynamics
- Primary succession — Ecological succession starting on bare rock or newly formed substrates with no soil (e.g., after volcanic lava or glacial retreat). Pioneer species (lichens, mosses) begin soil formation.
- Secondary succession — Recovery of an ecosystem where soil remains after a disturbance (e.g., after fire, farming).
- Climax community — A relatively stable, mature community in equilibrium (though in reality many systems are non-equilibrium and change over time).
- Autotrophs — Producers that make their own organic matter from inorganic sources (e.g., plants, algae, some bacteria).
- Heterotrophs — Consumers that obtain organic matter by eating other organisms (herbivores, carnivores, decomposers).
- Food chain — Linear sequence showing who eats whom (energy flow).
- Food web — Interconnected network of multiple food chains showing complex feeding relationships.
- Niche — The role and position a species has in an ecosystem, including habitat, resource use, and interactions with others.
- Mutualism — Symbiotic interaction in which both species benefit (e.g., pollinators and flowering plants).
- Predation/parasitism — Predation: one organism (predator) kills and eats another (prey). Parasitism: parasite lives on or in a host and benefits while harming the host (often without immediate death).
- Competition — Interaction where species or individuals compete for limited resources (interspecific: between species; intraspecific: within species).
- Commensalism — One species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed (e.g., epiphytic plants on trees).
- Symbiosis — Close, long-term biological interaction between two species; includes mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.
- Demography — Study of population characteristics and dynamics (size, structure, distribution, and changes).
- Fertility rate — Average number of children born per woman (often total fertility rate).
- Life expectancy — Average number of years a person in a population is expected to live.
- Immigration — Individuals moving into a population from elsewhere.
- Emigration — Individuals leaving a population to go elsewhere.
- What are the four factors used in forecasting population sizes? — Births, deaths, immigration, and emigration.
Study tips
- Practice drawing cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen) and label main steps.
- Be able to give examples of interactions (one example each: mutualism, commensalism, predation, competition, parasitism).
- Memorize the taxonomic ranks and the three volcano types vs. activity classifications.
- Use real-world examples (local ecosystems, recent volcanic eruptions, invasive species in your area) to anchor concepts.
If you want, I can convert this into flashcards, a printable one-page cheat sheet, or practice quiz questions. Which would you prefer?
Unit 1 — Earth systems, cycles & geology
- Scientific method — A systematic process for investigating questions: make observations, ask a question, do background research, form a hypothesis, design and run experiments, collect and analyze data, draw conclusions, and communicate results. Repeat and refine as needed.
- Water cycle — Movement of water through evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff and groundwater flow.
- Nitrogen cycle — Movement of nitrogen through fixation (N2 → usable forms by bacteria or lightning), nitrification (ammonium → nitrates), assimilation by organisms, ammonification (organic N → ammonium), and denitrification (back to N2).
- Carbon cycle — Carbon moves between atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and geosphere via photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, ocean exchange, and combustion (fossil fuel burning).
- Geosphere — The solid Earth: rocks, minerals, soil, crust/mantle/core.
- Hydrosphere — All water on or near Earth’s surface: oceans, lakes, rivers, groundwater, ice.
- Biosphere — All living organisms and the ecosystems they form.
- Evaporation — Liquid water turning into water vapor (energy absorbing).
- Condensation — Water vapor cooling and becoming liquid droplets (cloud formation).
- Precipitation — Water falling from the atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
- Plate tectonics — Theory that Earth’s lithosphere is divided into moving plates; interactions cause earthquakes, mountains, volcanoes, and seafloor spreading.
- Ring of Fire — A major zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions encircling the Pacific Ocean plate boundaries.
- Volcano — An opening in Earth’s crust where magma, ash and gases erupt. Can form mountains or islands.
- What is the biggest influence on climates? — The Sun (specifically the amount of solar radiation received), which is primarily controlled by latitude (angle of sunlight). So latitude (and Earth’s tilt) is the major geographic control.
- What are the three types of volcanoes? — Shield volcanoes (broad, gentle slopes, low-viscosity lava), cinder cone volcanoes (small, steep cones from pyroclastic material), and composite/stratovolcanoes (tall, steep, alternating lava and ash layers).
- What are the three classifications of volcanoes? — Active (erupting or likely to erupt), Dormant (not currently erupting but could in future), Extinct (not expected to erupt again).
Unit 2 — Ecology & biodiversity
- Biodiversity — Variety of life at genetic, species and ecosystem levels.
- Biome — Large area defined by climate and dominant vegetation (e.g., desert, tropical rainforest, tundra).
- Latitude — Distance north or south of the equator; strongly affects climate and sunlight.
- Longitude — Distance east or west of the Prime Meridian; used for location, time zones.
- Altitude — Height above sea level; affects temperature and pressure — higher altitude usually colder.
- Phylogenetic tree — A branching diagram that shows evolutionary relationships among species or groups.
- Endemic species — Species native to and found only in a specific location (e.g., lemurs of Madagascar).
- Threatened species — Species likely to become endangered in the near future.
- Endangered species — Species at serious risk of extinction across all or a significant portion of its range.
- Invasive species — Non-native species that spread widely and harm native ecosystems, economies, or human health (e.g., zebra mussels).
- Biotic factors — Living parts of an ecosystem (plants, animals, microbes).
- Abiotic factors — Nonliving environmental factors (temperature, water, pH, sunlight, soil).
- Invertebrates — Animals without a backbone (e.g., insects, mollusks, crustaceans).
- Vertebrates — Animals with a backbone (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals).
- Eutrophication — Nutrient enrichment (often N and P) of aquatic systems leading to algal blooms, oxygen depletion and fish kills.
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) — U.S. law (1973) that protects threatened and endangered species and their habitats; includes listing species, critical habitat designation, and recovery planning.
- List the order of classification of organisms from largest (domain) to smallest (species):
- Domain → Kingdom → Phylum → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species
Unit 3 — Communities, interactions & population dynamics
- Primary succession — Ecological succession starting on bare rock or newly formed substrates with no soil (e.g., after volcanic lava or glacial retreat). Pioneer species (lichens, mosses) begin soil formation.
- Secondary succession — Recovery of an ecosystem where soil remains after a disturbance (e.g., after fire, farming).
- Climax community — A relatively stable, mature community in equilibrium (though in reality many systems are non-equilibrium and change over time).
- Autotrophs — Producers that make their own organic matter from inorganic sources (e.g., plants, algae, some bacteria).
- Heterotrophs — Consumers that obtain organic matter by eating other organisms (herbivores, carnivores, decomposers).
- Food chain — Linear sequence showing who eats whom (energy flow).
- Food web — Interconnected network of multiple food chains showing complex feeding relationships.
- Niche — The role and position a species has in an ecosystem, including habitat, resource use, and interactions with others.
- Mutualism — Symbiotic interaction in which both species benefit (e.g., pollinators and flowering plants).
- Predation/parasitism — Predation: one organism (predator) kills and eats another (prey). Parasitism: parasite lives on or in a host and benefits while harming the host (often without immediate death).
- Competition — Interaction where species or individuals compete for limited resources (interspecific: between species; intraspecific: within species).
- Commensalism — One species benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed (e.g., epiphytic plants on trees).
- Symbiosis — Close, long-term biological interaction between two species; includes mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.
- Demography — Study of population characteristics and dynamics (size, structure, distribution, and changes).
- Fertility rate — Average number of children born per woman (often total fertility rate).
- Life expectancy — Average number of years a person in a population is expected to live.
- Immigration — Individuals moving into a population from elsewhere.
- Emigration — Individuals leaving a population to go elsewhere.
- What are the four factors used in forecasting population sizes? — Births, deaths, immigration, and emigration.
Study tips
- Practice drawing cycles (water, carbon, nitrogen) and label main steps.
- Be able to give examples of interactions (one example each: mutualism, commensalism, predation, competition, parasitism).
- Memorize the taxonomic ranks and the three volcano types vs. activity classifications.
- Use real-world examples (local ecosystems, recent volcanic eruptions, invasive species in your area) to anchor concepts.
If you want, I can convert this into flashcards, a printable one-page cheat sheet, or practice quiz questions. Which would you prefer?
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