Ch.5 Key Terms Flashcards
Photosyntheis
The process by which plants, algae , and some bacteria use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen.
Producer
An organism that can make organic molecules; a photosynthetic or chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic food source in an ecosystem.
Consumer
An organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients from inorganic sources.
Decomposer
An organism that feeds by breaking down organic matter from dead organisms; examples include bacteria and fungi.
Cellular Respiration
The process by which cells produce energy from carbohydrates; atmospheric oxygen combines with glucose to form water and carbon dioxide.
Food Chain
The pathway of energy transfer through various stagesc as a result of the feeding patterns of a series of organisms.
Food Web
A diagram that shows the feeding relationships bewtween organisms in an ecosystem.
Trophic Level
One of the steps in a food chain or food pyramid; examples include producers primary, secondary , and teritary consumers.
Carbon Cycle
The process by which carbon is cycled between the atmosphere , land, water and organisms.
Nitrogen-Fixing Bacteria
Bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia .
Nitrogen Cycle
The process in which nitrogen circulates among the air, soil, water, plants, and in an ecosystem.
Phosphorus Cycle
The movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment.
Ecological Succsession
A gradual process of change and replacement within a community.
Primary Succsession
Succession that begins in an area that previously did not support life.
Secondary Succsession
The process by which one community that has been partially or totally destroyed.
