Ch. 4 Key Terms

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

biotic factor

Answer 2

living organism that shapes its environment.

Question 3

abiotic factor

Answer 3

non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment.

Question 4

organism

Answer 4

an individual animal, plant, or single-celled life form.

Question 5

species

Answer 5

a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes or interbreeding.

Question 6

population

Answer 6

the whole number of people or inhabitants in a country or region.

Question 7

community

Answer 7

interacting group of various species in a common location.

Question 8

habitat

Answer 8

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Question 9

natural selection

Answer 9

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Question 10

evolution

Answer 10

the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations.

Question 11

adaptation

Answer 11

a change or the process of change by which an organism or species becomes better suited to its environment.

Question 12

artificial selection

Answer 12

the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

the sum of the environmental factors

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

any of a group of single-celled prokaryotic organisms

Question 15

bacteria

Answer 15

a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms which have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus.

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter

Question 17

protist

Answer 17

a single-celled organism of the kingdom

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit.

Question 19

angiosperm

Answer 19

are plants that produce flowers and bear their seeds in fruits.

Question 20

invertebrate

Answer 20

an animal lacking a backbone, such as an arthropod, mollusk, annelid, coelenterate, etc. The invertebrates constitute an artificial division of the animal kingdom

Question 21

vertebrate

Answer 21

an animal of a large group distinguished by the possession of a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.