chap 3 Vocab

Question 1

part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

Answer 1

biosphere

Question 2

scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Answer 2

ecology

Question 3

a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Answer 3

species

Question 4

group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area

Answer 4

population

Question 5

assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area

Answer 5

community

Question 6

all the organisms that live in a place, together with their nonliving environment

Answer 6

ecosystem

Question 7

any living part of the environment with which an organism might interact

Answer 7

biotic factor

Question 8

physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem

Answer 8

abiotic factor

Question 9

thin layer of gases that surround Earth

Answer 9

atmosphere

Question 10

all of the water–salt water and fresh water, in the form of liquid, ice, or vapor–above and below Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere

Answer 10

hydrosphere

Question 11

all of the rock at and below Earth’s surface

Answer 11

geosphere

Question 12

a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Answer 12

biome

Question 13

biome with long cold winters and a few months of warm weather; dominated by coniferous evergreens; also called boreal forest

Answer 13

taiga

Question 14

layer of permanently frozen subsoil found in the tundra

Answer 14

permafrost

Question 15

ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year

Answer 15

wetland

Question 16

kind of wetland formed where a river meets the ocean

Answer 16

estuary

Question 17

average year-to-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time

Answer 17

climate

Question 18

day-to-day conditions of the atmosphere, including temperature, precipitation, and other factors

Answer 18

weather

Question 19

the process in which certain gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor) trap sunlight energy in Earth’s atmosphere as heat

Answer 19

greenhouse effect

Question 20

microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments; includes both phytoplankton and zooplankton

Answer 20

plankton