Bio vocab

Question 1

Ecology

Answer 1

Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Question 2

Organism

Answer 2

An individual living thing

Question 3

Population

Answer 3

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

Question 4

Community

Answer 4

All the different populations that live together in an area

Question 5

Ecosystem

Answer 5

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 6

Biome

Answer 6

A group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Question 7

Quadrat Sampling

Answer 7

a square or rectangular plot of land, a quadrat, marked off at random to isolate a sample and determine the percentage of vegetation and animals occurring within the marked area.

Question 8

Density

Answer 8

Number of individuals per unit area

Question 9

Frequency

Answer 9

Percentage of sample plots in which a species appears

Question 10

Biotic

Answer 10

Living things

Question 11

Abiotic

Answer 11

Non-living things

Question 12

Biodiversity

Answer 12

the variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem.

Question 13

Keystone Species

Answer 13

A species that influences the survival of many other species in an ecosystem

Question 14

Producer

Answer 14

An organism that can make its own food.

Question 15

Autotroph

Answer 15

An organism that makes its own food

Question 16

Chemosynthesis

Answer 16

Process by which some organisms, such as certain bacteria, use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates

Question 17

Photosynthesis

Answer 17

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.

Question 18

Consumer

Answer 18

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms

Question 19

Heterotroph

Answer 19

An organism that cannot make its own food.

Question 20

Generalist Species

Answer 20

Species with a broad ecological niche. They can live in many different places, eat a variety of foods, and tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. Examples are flies, cockroaches, mice, rats, and human beings. Compare specialist species.

Question 21

Specialist Species

Answer 21

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.

Question 22

Specialist Species

Answer 22

Species with a narrow ecological niche. They may be able to live in only one type of habitat, tolerate only a narrow range of climatic and other environmental conditions, or use only one type or a few types of food.

Question 23

Food Chain

Answer 23

a series of steps in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten

Question 24

Food Web

Answer 24

A community of organisms where there are several interrelated food chains

Question 25

Herbivore

Answer 25

A consumer that eats only plants.

Question 26

Carnivore

Answer 26

A consumer that eats only animals.

Question 27

Omnivore

Answer 27

An animal that eats both plants and animals

Question 28

Detritivore

Answer 28

organism that feeds on plant and animal remains and other dead matter

Question 29

Decomposer

Answer 29

An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms

Question 30

Scavenger

Answer 30

carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms

Question 31

trophic Level

Answer 31

Each step in a food chain or food web

Question 31

trophic Level

Answer 31

Each step in a food chain or food web

Question 32

Primary Consumers

Answer 32

Animals that feed on producers; ex. herbivores

Question 33

Tertiary consumers

Answer 33

Carnivores that eat other carnivores

Question 34

Secondary Consumers

Answer 34

Carnivores that eat herbivores

Question 35

Biomass

Answer 35

A measure of the total dry mass of organisms within a particular region

Question 36

Invasive Species

Answer 36

plants and animals that have migrated to places where they are not native

Question 37

Hydrologic Cycle

Answer 37

the movement of water through the biosphere

Question 38

Oxygen Cycle

Answer 38

Cycle whereby natural processes and human activity consume atmospheric oxygen and produce carbon dioxide and the Earth’s forests and other flora, through photosynthesis, consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen

Question 39

Carbon Cycle

Answer 39

the organic circulation of carbon from the atmosphere into organisms and back again

Question 40

Acid Rain

Answer 40

Rain containing acids that form in the atmosphere when industrial gas emissions (especially sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) combine with water.

Question 41

Nitrogen Fixation

Answer 41

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia

Question 42

Legumes

Answer 42

Plants of the bean and pea family, with seeds that are rich in protein compared with other plant-derived foods

Question 43

Ammonification

Answer 43

Decomposers convert organic waste into ammonia

Question 44

Denitrification

Answer 44

Process by which bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas

Question 45

Algal Bloom

Answer 45

The rapid growth of a population of algae

Question 46

Eutrophication

Answer 46

A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.