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OhioBiology

B.DI: Diversity and Interdependence (Ecology)

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

How are atoms like carbon and nitrogen reused over and over in nature?

Describe how matter cycles through ecosystems in the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles, and how living processes and human activity move and store it (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2).
A standard-level answer on biogeochemical cycles for Ohio's Biology EOC: how carbon, nitrogen, and water cycle through ecosystems, the role of photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and bacteria, and how human activity disrupts them.
14 min answer →

What keeps an ecosystem stable, and how do humans disrupt it?

Explain ecosystem equilibrium and succession, and describe how human activities (climate change, habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and extinction) reduce biodiversity (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2 / B.DI.3).
A standard-level answer on ecosystem stability and human impact for Ohio's Biology EOC: equilibrium and disequilibrium, ecological succession, and how climate change, habitat loss, pollution, invasive species, and extinction reduce biodiversity.
14 min answer →

How is life organized in an ecosystem, and what makes one up?

Describe the levels of ecological organization and the biotic and abiotic factors that make up an ecosystem (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2).
A standard-level answer on ecosystems for Ohio's Biology EOC: the levels of ecological organization from organism to biosphere, and the biotic and abiotic factors that shape an ecosystem.
13 min answer →

How does energy move through an ecosystem, and why is so much lost?

Trace the one-way flow of energy through trophic levels in food chains and food webs, using energy pyramids and the ten percent rule (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2).
A standard-level answer on energy flow for Ohio's Biology EOC: producers, consumers, and decomposers, trophic levels in food chains and webs, energy pyramids, and why only about ten percent of energy passes to the next level.
14 min answer →

What controls how large a population can grow in an ecosystem?

Explain how limiting factors and carrying capacity shape population growth, and interpret exponential and logistic growth curves (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2).
A standard-level answer on population dynamics for Ohio's Biology EOC: exponential and logistic growth, carrying capacity, density-dependent and density-independent limiting factors, and how to read population growth graphs.
13 min answer →

How do the species in a community affect one another?

Describe the interactions between species, including predation, competition, and the three forms of symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism) (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.DI.2).
A standard-level answer on species interactions for Ohio's Biology EOC: predation, competition, and the three types of symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism), and how to identify each from who benefits and who is harmed.
13 min answer →