ESS. Topic 1.2 - Systems

In a system where sunlight is warming up a rock to a point that the rock is warmer than the air around it and releases heat back to the air...

• heat stored in the rock is matter

• sunlight is the output of energy from the rock

• heat is the input of energy to the rock

• heat is the output of energy from the rock

Which os the following is least likely to be an open system?

• A sealed aquarium in a classroom

• A submarine

• A deep underwater cave

• An ocean canyon at 6000 m depth

Choose the option below that is correct

• Most systems on earth are open systems

• An open system exchanges only energy with its surroundings

• A closed system only exchanges matter and not energy with its surroundings

• A cave is an example of an isolated system

An example of a transformation process of only matter is

• Sunlight converted to heat

• A deer digesting grass

• Ice melting into water

• Burning wood releasing heat

A disadvantage to using a systems model approach to studying ecosystems is....?

• It visualises a complex set of interactions which may be ecological or societal

• That the concept of a system can be applied at a range of scales

• That it provides a more holistic view of a complex system

• That models may simplify ecosystems too much to understand the ecosystems complexity

The earth and its atmosphere are considered ...?

• An open system because occasionally meteorites hit our planet's surface

• A closed system because occasionally meteorites hit our planet's surface

• An open system because sunlight and heat cross it's boundary

• A closed system as only sublight and heat cross its boundary

Which statement is correct?

• A lake is an example of an isolated system

• Closed systems exchange energy but not matter

• The most common systems found on earth are closed systems

• An open system exchanges energy but not matter

Which of the following are inputs into a closed system?

• Heat only

• Matter and energy

• Matter only

• Energy only

Who argued that the Earth is a planet-sized organism and the atmosphere is its organ that regulates it and connects all its parts?

• E. Fritz in 'Small is beautiful'

• Rachel Carson in Silent Spring

• James Lovelock in the 'Gaia Hypothesis'

• Al Gore in an 'Inconvenient Truth'

Which of the following can be considered an isolated system?

• A small island

• A spider on a tree

• The entire cosmos

• A rock in the bottom of the ocean