chap 4

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

biotic factors

Answer 2

a living organism that shapes its environment

Question 3

abiotic factors

Answer 3

a non-living organism that shapes its environment

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

Question 6

population

Answer 6

a community of animals, plants, or humans among whose members interbreeding occurs.

Question 7

community

Answer 7

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

Question 8

habitat

Answer 8

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Question 9

natural selection

Answer 9

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Question 10

evolution

Answer 10

the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth

Question 11

adaptation

Answer 11

the action or process of adapting or being adapted.

Question 12

artificial selection

Answer 12

the process by which humans choose individual organisms with certain phenotypic trait values for breeding.

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

lack of sensitivity to a drug, insecticide, etc., especially as a result of continued exposure or genetic change.

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

microorganisms that are similar to bacteria in size and simplicity of structure but radically different in molecular organization.

Question 15

bacteria

Answer 15

a member of a large group of unicellular microorganisms which have cell walls but lack organelles and an organized nucleus, including some which can cause disease.

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

any of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.

Question 17

protist

Answer 17

a single-celled organism of the kingdom Protista, such as a protozoan or simple alga.

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

oun: gymnosperm; plural noun: gymnosperms

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.

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.