Ecosystems

Question 1

Living

Answer 1

• grows
• moves by itself
• reproduces
• needs food and water to survive
• almost always needs air to breathe

Question 2

Nonliving

Answer 2

• does not grow
• does not move by itself
• does not reproduce
• does not need food and water to survive
• does not breathe

Question 3

Ecology

Answer 3

the study of how living things relate to one another and to their surroundings

Question 4

Abiotic Factors

Answer 4

any nonliving component that impacts other living things and an ecosystem, such as air, light, temperature, soil, and water

Question 5

Biotic Factors

Answer 5

any living component that impacts other living things and ecosystems, such as grass, plants, trees, animals, humans, and bacteria

Question 6

Producer

Answer 6

a living thing that creates its own energy

Question 7

Producer

Answer 7

a living thing that creates its own energy

Question 8

Consumer

Answer 8

an organism that must eat to obtain energy

Question 9

Decomposer

Answer 9

a living organism that breaks down decaying or dead material or organisms

Question 10

Individual Organism

Answer 10

any single living organism in a specific area

Question 11

Population

Answer 11

the organisms of a single species that live in a specific area

Question 12

Community

Answer 12

all the populations of all the biotic species that live in a specific area

Question 13

Ecosystem

Answer 13

all the biotic factors and abiotic factors interacting together in a specific area

Question 14

Biome

Answer 14

one or more ecosystems interacting together in a large geographical area

Question 15

Bioshpere

Answer 15

all the areas of Earth where life exists, including all the biomes and ecosystems

Question 16

Food Chain

Answer 16

the sequence of how matter and energy transfer from one living thing to another

Question 17

Food Web

Answer 17

a diagram that illustrates, in a sophisticated way, how food and energy transfer through an ecosystem

Question 18

Food Web Arrows

Answer 18

The arrows on a food web indicate the direction in which energy is transferred. The heads of the arrows point to the organism that does the eating, and the tails of the arrows show what is being eaten.

Question 19

Apex Predator

Answer 19

predators that do not have other natural predators and are at the top of the food chain

Question 20

Trophic Level

Answer 20

the position of a living thing in a food web based on how and what it eats

Question 21

Energy Pyramid

Answer 21

a visual representation of the organism in an area that can show three things:
1. the population of organisms in an area
2. the amount of biomass of living organisms in an area
3. the efficiency of energy or heat that is transferred up the pyramid

Question 22

Symbiosis

Answer 22

a relationship between two living organisms where at least one organism benefits

Question 23

Mutualism

Answer 23

a relationship between two living organisms where both the organism benefit

Question 24

Commensalim

Answer 24

a relationship between two living organisms where one organism benefits and the other is not affected negatively or positively

Question 25

Parasitism

Answer 25

a relationship between two living organisms where one organism benefits and the other is affected in a negative way

Question 26

Habitat

Answer 26

the natural surrounding or home of living organisms in an area

Question 27

Ecological Succession

Answer 27

the process of change that occurs over time to the living organisms that inhabit an area

Question 28

Primary Succession

Answer 28

the process of change that occurs over time where living organisms inhabit an area that is covered in rock - this can occur when a new island is formed after a volcanic eruption or after a glacier recedes

Question 29

Secondary Succession

Answer 29

the process of change that occurs over time where living organisms inhabit or reinhabit an area that is covered in soil - this can occur after natural or human disasters

Question 30

Pioneer Species

Answer 30

the first species to inhabit an area on a rocky surface in the primary succession process

Question 31

Climax Community

Answer 31

the last stage in the ecological succession process where a community reaches its climax or full potential with all the plants and animals existing in balance