Chapter 14 Vocabulary

Question 0

Biotic

Answer 0

A living thing in an ecosystem

Question 1

Abiotic

Answer 1

A non living physical or chemical part of an ecosystem

Question 2

Condensation

Answer 2

The changing of gas into liquid or solid

Question 3

Precipitation

Answer 3

Water that falls to Earths surface

Question 4

Evaporation

Answer 4

Water that returns to the atmosphere when heated, changing back into vapor

Question 5

Respiration

Answer 5

Animals release water vapor when they breathe

Question 6

Transpiration

Answer 6

Plants release water vapor

Question 7

Photosynthesis

Answer 7

The process by which green plants and other producers use simple compounds and energy from light to make sugar, an energy-rich compound

Question 8

Carbon Cycle

Answer 8

The continuous movement of carbon through Earth, its atmosphere, and the living things on Earth

Question 9

Fossil Fuels

Answer 9

Only combustible organic material in oil, coal, or natural gas, derived from the remains of former life

Question 10

Nitrogen cycle

Answer 10

The continuous movement of nitrogen through Earth, its atmosphere, and living things on earth
Comes down to Earth as lightning

Question 11

Producer

Answer 11

An organism that captures energy from sunlight and transforms it into chemical energy that is stored in energy-rich carbon compounds. Producers are a source of food other organisms

Question 12

Consumer

Answer 12

A living thing that gets its energy by eating other living things in a food chain; consumers are also called heterotrophs

Question 13

Decomposer

Answer 13

An organism that feeds on and breaks down dead plant or animal matter

Question 14

Food web

Answer 14

A model to show a feeding relationship in which many food chains overlap in an ecosystem

Question 15

Food chain

Answer 15

A model used to show the feeding relationships between a single producer and a chain of consumers in an ecosystem. In a typical food chain, a plant is eaten by a consumer, which can be an insect, then the insect is eaten by the second consumer which can be a bird

Question 16

Energy pyramid

Answer 16

A model used to show the amount of energy available to living things in ecosystem

Question 17

Biomes

Answer 17

A region of Earth that has a particular climate and certain types of plants and animals
Ex. Tundra, taiga, temperate, tropical forest, dessert, grassland

Question 18

Deciduous

Answer 18

A term used to describe trees and shrubs that drop their leaves when winter comes

Question 19

Coniferous

Answer 19

A term used to describe cone-bearing trees and shrubs that usually keep their leaves or needles during all the seasons of the year

Question 20

Estuary

Answer 20

The lower end of a river where it meets the ocean and fresh and salt water mix