Ecology and Earth Science

Water lily

Small fish eating water fleas

Water flea eating algae

Algae

Carbon dioxide

Water

Glucose (Sugar)

Soil

Cooperation

Mutualism

Competition

Decomposition

A vulture eating a dead carcass

A green plant making sugar

A wolf hunting a deer

A cow eating grass

The producers would grow faster because they have more space

Energy would flow more quickly to the top predators

Nutrients would remain locked in dead matter, and producers would eventually starve

Herbivores would become the new decomposers

An unhealthy ecosystem

The loss of energy through trophic levels

A violation of the laws of nature

The predator-prey reversal effect

The first trophic level always consists of herbivores

The second trophic level always consists of autotrophs

The third trophic level consists of carnivores or omnivores that eat herbivores

The fourth trophic level always contains the most energy

The Heron will switch its niche to become a primary producer, consuming Marsh Grass to compensate for the lost energy.

The Heron population may decline or become less stable because the Frog population is now entirely dependent on a single prey source, making that energy pathway more vulnerable.

The Heron population will likely increase because the removal of the Native Snail reduces the total number of species competing for the Rabbit population.

The Heron will be completely unaffected because it is an apex predator and its total energy intake is primarily determined by the Fox population.

It shows that organisms often have multiple food sources and roles.

It includes the sun, which food chains do not.

It is easier to read and understand for scientists.

It excludes decomposers, which are not part of real ecosystems.

Apex Predators

Secondary Consumers

Primary Consumers

Producers

Beavers building a dam

Water flowing fast

Ice freezing in winter

Rocks rolling downstream

A biotic factor

An abiotic factor

A biological factor

A consumer

Strong winds

Mice

High cliffs

Clear skies

Biotic

Abiotic

Living

Organic

Light from the surface

Chemical compounds like hydrogen sulfide

The cold temperature of the deep ocean

The movement of whales near the vent

By growing new flowers to capture more light

By dropping its leaves to conserve energy and water

By increasing its rate of photosynthesis

By moving to a warmer location

By cooling down the plants so they don't sweat

By carrying pollen from one flower to another

By pushing the plants deeper into the soil

By increasing the amount of $CO_2$ the leaves can touch

By consuming all the water in the soil.

By aerating the soil and increasing nutrient availability through decomposition.

By making the soil more compact so plants don't fall over.

By removing all the minerals that plants don't need.

They will gain too much water through osmosis and might burst.

They will lose internal water to the environment through osmosis, risking dehydration.

They will be unable to absorb oxygen because salt blocks their gills.

They will have to start photosynthesizing to create more salt.

A bird species migrates because it is being hunted by an invasive cat.

A palm tree species cannot survive in Canada due to the average winter temperatures being below its tolerance threshold.

A population of deer increases because the local wolves have died out.

A fungus grows on a tree because the tree provides a source of glucose.

Condensation

Precipitation

Evaporation

Freezing

Aquifer

Lake

Glacier

Stream

97%

50%

Less than 1%

25%

Liquid to solid

Solid to gas

Gas to liquid

Liquid to gas

Freezing

Condensation

Evaporation

Precipitation

Building dams on rivers

Paving land with asphalt and concrete

Flying airplanes through clouds

Fishing in the deep ocean

An output

A transfer

A store

A catalyst

Condensation

Deposition

Evaporation

Melting

The cycle would speed up because cooler air can hold more water vapor.

The cycle would slow down as there would be less energy for evaporation and transpiration.

Precipitation would increase globally because cold air always produces more rain.

Gravity would take over and pull all the water into the Earth's core.

Clay has larger pores, allowing for faster infiltration than sand.

Sand has smaller pores, which trap water at the surface through capillary action.

Sand allows for rapid infiltration and percolation due to larger pore spaces between grains.

Texture only affects the color of the soil and has no impact on water movement.

Luster

Streak

Hardness

Cleavage

It stays igneous

It becomes sedimentary

It becomes metamorphic

It turns into magma

Igneous

Sedimentary

Metamorphic

Mineral

Shale

Sandstone

Granite

Limestone

Metamorphic

Intrusive Igneous

Sedimentary

Extrusive Igneous

The presence of bubbles

The alignment of minerals into parallel bands or layers

The process of turning into magma

The inclusion of large pebbles

Granite and Basalt

Sandstone and Quartzite

Shale and Limestone

Obsidian and Pumice

Metamorphic Rock

Igneous Rock

Sediment

Magma

In the middle of a stable continental plate.

Directly above a rising mantle plume (hotspot).

In the subduction zone where cold oceanic crust is rapidly forced deep into the Earth.

At a divergent boundary where two plates are moving away from each other.

Oxidation of iron minerals in the rock.

Hydrolysis of feldspar into clay.

Carbonation (dissolution) by carbonic acid in rainwater.

Thermal expansion due to daily temperature changes.

The careful management and protection of natural resources

The process of using up all the oil as fast as possible

The study of how to build bigger and faster cars

The act of throwing trash into the ocean

Computers

Plastic bottles

Cell phones

Fresh water

To give people a better view of the animals

To make the highway look more like a forest

To allow animals to move safely between habitats without being hit by cars

To give birds a place to build nests on the road

To celebrate the discovery of the moon

To raise awareness and support for environmental protection

To make sure everyone stays inside their house all day

To encourage people to buy more plastic toys

Increased land area available for coastal farming.

Loss of habitat for people and wildlife in low-lying coastal areas.

A decrease in the number of hurricanes and tropical storms.

The cooling of the Earth's core.

It ensures that only one type of pest will ever live in the field.

It helps maintain soil fertility and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

It allows the farmer to use the same tractor for every crop.

It prevents any weeds from growing in the soil.

Cause excessive growth of algae in the ocean.

React with and destroy ozone molecules in the upper atmosphere.

Increase the acidity of the soil in tropical rainforests.

Turn the sky a different color during the day.

Bees are the only organisms that can produce honey, which is the world's primary source of sugar.

Without bees, most flowering plants and about one-third of human food crops would fail to reproduce.

Bees are responsible for controlling the population of mosquitoes and other biting insects.

The loss of bees would lead to an overabundance of pollen, causing fatal allergies in most mammals.

Urban areas are closer to the clouds, so it rains harder there.

Impermeable surfaces like asphalt prevent infiltration, causing water to reach streams much faster and in higher volumes.

The trees in a forest act as umbrellas that catch the water and send it back into the sky before it hits the ground.

The city's sewer pipes are designed to pump water into the streets to keep the basements dry.

Resistance is the ability to remain unchanged during a disturbance; Resilience is the ability to recover after a disturbance.

Resistance is how fast an ecosystem grows; Resilience is how many species it contains.

Resilience is the ability to fight off invasive species; Resistance is the ability to survive a volcanic eruption.

There is no difference; both terms describe how strong an ecosystem is against pollution.

SDG 12

SDG 13

SDG 14

SDG 15

The Earth getting colder over time

The rise in Earth's average temperature due to greenhouse gases

The heat produced by a single campfire

A normal change that happens every summer

Reducing the amount of trash collected

Ensuring affordable housing for everyone

Closing all public parks

Removing all buses from the streets

Education gives people skills to get better-paying jobs

Education teaches people how to spend money faster

Education is only for people who are already rich

Education takes too much time away from working

It makes it easier for heavy machinery to harvest the crops.

It increases biodiversity and can improve soil health or reduce pests naturally.

It allows the crops to grow much taller than they would alone.

It requires the farmer to use twice as much water.

They absorb water from the air and push it into the ground.

They release water vapor from their leaves into the atmosphere, which helps form clouds.

They act as umbrellas that prevent rain from reaching the soil.

They turn water into oxygen through their roots.

To throw away all your trash in a bin.

To say no to unnecessary items or single-use plastics before they are even acquired.

To burn your waste in a backyard fire.

To fix an item that is broken.

The coral polyps melt like ice.

The coral polyps expel their symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae), which provide them with food through photosynthesis.

The high temperature causes the calcium carbonate to dissolve immediately.

The salt in the water crystallizes and smothers the coral.

They are the only places on Earth where photosynthesis occurs.

They contain species that are found nowhere else on Earth and are under high threat of habitat loss.

They are areas that have already been completely destroyed and need to be rebuilt.

They are the regions with the lowest human population density.

Nitrous Oxide ($N_2O$)

Methane ($CH_4$)

Sulfur Dioxide ($SO_2$)

Argon ($Ar$)