Abiotic Factors Flashcards
All 7 cards in this deck
What are abiotic factors?
The non-living factors of the environment that can affect a community, e.g. temperature.
List the abiotic factors named in the specification that can affect a community.
Light intensity, temperature, moisture levels, soil pH and mineral content, wind intensity and direction, carbon dioxide levels for plants, oxygen levels for aquatic animals.
Which abiotic factor is especially important for aquatic animals such as fish?
Dissolved oxygen levels in the water.
True or false? Shading by a building is an abiotic factor.
True. Shading reduces light intensity, and light intensity is a non-living factor.
How does a fall in light intensity affect plants in a community?
Less photosynthesis, so plants grow more slowly and fewer survive, reducing food and shelter for animals.
What are the steps to explain the effect of a change in an abiotic factor using data?
e.g. a graph shows fewer plants where the soil is more acidic
- State the trend from the data: plant numbers fall as soil pH falls.
- Name the abiotic factor: soil pH.
- Link to survival: acidic soil reduces mineral ion uptake, so plants grow less well and the population falls.
True or false? Two genetically identical plants in the same garden must grow to the same height.
False. Differences in abiotic factors such as light, water, mineral ions and soil pH can make them grow differently.