Ch. 42

Question 1

organism that obtains energy and carbon by feeding on tissues, wastes, or remains of other organisms

Answer 1

consumer

Question 2

organism that feeds on biological remains and breaks organic material down into its inorganic subunits

Answer 2

decomposer

Question 3

animal that feeds on small bits of organic material

Answer 3

detritivore

Question 4

a biological community and its environment

Answer 4

ecosystem

Question 5

description of who eats whom in one path of energy flow through an ecosystem

Answer 5

food chain

Question 6

the rate at which an ecosystem’s producers capture and store energy

Answer 6

primary production

Question 7

an organism that obtains energy directly from the environment and carbon from inorganic sources

Answer 7

producer

Question 8

position of an organism in a food chain

Answer 8

trophic level

Question 9

a graphic depicting the mass of organic material in the bodies of organisms at each trophic level at a specific time

Answer 9

biomass pyramid

Question 10

food chain in which energy is transferred directly from producers to detritivores

Answer 10

detrital food chain

Question 11

a graphic depicting the energy that flows through each trophic level in a given interval

Answer 11

energy pyramid

Question 12

set of cross-connecting food chains

Answer 12

food web

Question 13

food chain in which energy is transferred from producers to grazers

Answer 13

grazing food chain

Question 14

porous rock layer that holds some groundwater

Answer 14

aquifer

Question 15

soil water and water in aquifers

Answer 15

groundwater

Question 16

water that flows over soil into streams

Answer 16

runoff

Question 17

water between soil particles

Answer 17

soil water

Question 18

movement of water among earth’s oceans, atmosphere, and the freshwater reservoirs on land

Answer 18

water cycle

Question 19

biogeochemical cycle in which a gaseous form of an element plays a significant role

Answer 19

atmospheric cycle

Question 20

biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between oceans, soils, atmosphere, and living organisms

Answer 20

carbon cycle

Question 21

an ongoing trend toward warmer temperatures and shifts in climate patterns worldwide

Answer 21

global climate change

Question 22

warming of earth’s lower atmosphere and surface as a result of heat trapped by greenhouse gases

Answer 22

greenhouse effect

Question 23

atmospheric gas, such as carbon dioxide, that absorbs and reradiates heat, warming earth’s surface

Answer 23

greenhouse gas

Question 24

ammonium-producing process of decomposition

Answer 24

ammonification

Question 25

conversion of nitrates or nitrites to nitrogen gas

Answer 25

denitrification

Question 26

conversion of ammonium to nitrate

Answer 26

nitrification

Question 27

movement of nitrogen among the atmosphere, soil, and water, and into and out of food webs

Answer 27

nitrogen cycle

Question 28

conversion of nitrogen gas to ammonia

Answer 28

nitrogen fixation

Question 29

movement of phosphorus among earth’s rocks and waters, and into and out of food webs

Answer 29

phosphorus cycle

Question 30

biochemical cycle in which the atmosphere plays little role and rocks are the major reservoir

Answer 30

sedimentary cycle

Question 31

the concentration of a chemical pollutant in the tissues of an organism rises over the course of the organism’s lifetime

Answer 31

bioaccumulation

Question 32

a chemical pollutant becomes increasingly concentrated as it moves up through food chains

Answer 32

biological magnification