Chap 4 Key Terms

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

biotic factor

Answer 2

A biotic factor is a living organism that shapes its environment. In a freshwater ecosystem, examples might include aquatic plants, fish, amphibians, and algae.

Question 3

abiotic factor

Answer 3

An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem 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

The current world population is 7.9 billion as of October 2021 according to the most recent United Nations estimates elaborated by Worldometer.

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

Selective breeding is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together.

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to prevent something by action or argument.

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

Archaea constitute a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria, but this term has fallen out of use.

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 that can cause disease.

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

A fungus is a primitive organism. Mushrooms, mold and mildew are examples. Fungi live in air, in soil, on plants and in water. … Some fungi reproduce through tiny spores in the air. You can inhale the spores or they can land on you.

Question 17

protists

Answer 17

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

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

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. The invertebrates constitute an artificial division of the animal kingdom, comprising 95 percent of animal species and about 30 different phyla.

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.