Ch 6

Question 0

Ecosystem

Answer 0

All of the organisms in a given area plus the physical environment in which they interact

Question 1

Biosphere

Answer 1

The sum total of all of earth’s ecosystems

Question 2

Habitat

Answer 2

The physical environment in which individuals of a particular species can be found

Question 3

Species

Answer 3

A group of plants or animals that have a high degree of similarity and can generally only interbreed among themselves

Question 4

Niche

Answer 4

The role a species plays in its community, including how it gets it’s energy and its nutrients, what habitat requirements it has, and what other species and parts of the ecosystem it interacts with

Question 5

Energy flow

Answer 5

The one-way passage of energy through an ecosystem

Question 6

Nutrient cycles

Answer 6

Movement of life’s essential chemicals or nutrients through an ecosystem

Question 7

Biomass

Answer 7

The sum of all organic material - plant and animal matter - that make up an ecosystem

Question 8

Biome

Answer 8

One of many distinctive types of ecosystems determined by climate and identified by the predominant vegetation and organisms that have adapted to live there

Question 9

Limiting factor

Answer 9

The critical resource whose supply determines the population size of a given species in a given biome

Question 10

Range of tolerance

Answer 10

The range, within upper and lower limits, of a limiting factor that allows a species to survive and reproduce

Question 11

Biotic

Answer 11

The living components of an ecosystem, such as the plants and animals and their waste

Question 12

Abiotic

Answer 12

The nonliving components of an ecosystem, such as rainfall and mineral composition of the soil

Question 13

Reservoirs

Answer 13

Abiotic or biotic component of the environment that serves as a storage place for cycling nutrients

Question 14

Producer

Answer 14

An organism that converts solar energy to chemical energy via photosynthesis

Question 15

Consumer

Answer 15

An organism that obtains energy and nutrients by feeding on another organism

Question 16

Cellular respiration

Answer 16

The process in which all organisms break down sugar to release its energy, using oxygen and giving of CO2 as a waste product

Question 17

Carbon cycle

Answer 17

Movement of carbon through biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem. Carbon cycles via photosynthesis and cellular respiration as well as in and out of other reservoirs such as the oceans and soil. It is also released by human actions such as fossil fuel burning

Question 18

Nitrogen cycle

Answer 18

Continuous series of natural processes by which nitrogen passes from the air to the soil, to the organisms, and then returns back to the air or soil through decomposition or denitrification

Question 19

Nitrogen fixation

Answer 19

Conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into a biologic usable form, carried out by bacteria found in soil or via lighting

Question 20

Phosphorus cycle

Answer 20

Series of natural processes by which the nutrient phosphors moves from rock to soil or water, to living organisms, and back to the soil