Ch. 4 Key Terms

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

biotic factors

Answer 2

Biotic components, or biotic factors, can be described as any living component that affects another organism or shapes the ecosystem. This includes both animals that consume other organisms within their ecosystem, and the organism that is being consumed.

Question 3

abiotic factors

Answer 3

In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them underpin biology as a whole.

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. The species is the principal natural taxonomic unit, ranking below a genus and denoted by a Latin binomial, e.g. Homo sapiens.

Question 6

population

Answer 6

In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently living

Question 7

community

Answer 7

Community, also called biological community, in biology, an interacting group of various species in a common location.

Question 8

habitat

Answer 8

A habitat is a place where an organism makes its home. A habitat meets all the environmental conditions an organism needs to survive.

Question 9

natural selection

Answer 9

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

Question 10

evolution

Answer 10

In biology, evolution is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies on the process of natural selection

Question 11

adaption

Answer 11

the action or process of adapting or being adapted.

Question 12

artificial selection

Answer 12

Artificial selection is the identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals, and the steps taken to enhance and perpetuate those traits in future generations.

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

Archaea constitute a domain of single-celled organisms

Question 15

bacteria

Answer 15

Bacteria are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell.

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms

Question 17

protist

Answer 17

A protist is any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor,

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. Gymnosperms include the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo.

Question 19

angiosperm

Answer 19

a plant that has flowers and produces seeds enclosed within a carpel. The angiosperms are a large group and include herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most trees.

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, comprising 95 percent of animal species and about 30 different phyla.

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.