Chapter 2 Ecosystems and Biomes Science Vocabulary

Question 0

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms

Answer 0

Consumer

Question 1

An organism that can make its own food

Answer 1

Producer

Question 2

Consumers that eat only plants

Answer 2

Herbivore

Question 3

Consumers that eat only animals

Answer 3

Carnivore

Question 4

A consumer that eats both plants and animals

Answer 4

Omnivore

Question 5

A carnivore that feeds on the bodies of dead organisms

Answer 5

Scavenger

Question 6

Organisms that break down dead organisms and return the raw materials to the environment

Answer 6

Decomposer

Question 7

A series of events in which one organism eats another and obtains energy

Answer 7

Food chain

Question 8

Consists of the many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem

Answer 8

Food web

Question 9

Shows the amount of energy that moves from one feeding level to another in a food web

Answer 9

Energy pyramid

Question 10

The continuous process by which water moves from earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back

Answer 10

Water cycle

Question 11

The process by which molecules of liquid water absorb energy and change to the gas state

Answer 11

Evaporation

Question 12

The process by which a gas changes to a liquid

Answer 12

Condensation

Question 13

The heavy drops that fall back to the Earth, rain, snow, sleet, or hail

Answer 13

Precipitation

Question 14

The process of changing free nitrogen gas into a usable form of nitrogen

Answer 14

Nitrogen fixation

Question 15

Where bacteria lives on bumps of roots on certain plants

Answer 15

Nodule

Question 16

The study of where organisms live

Answer 16

Biogeography

Question 17

The very slow motion of the continents

Answer 17

Continental drift

Question 18

The movement of organisms from one place to another

Answer 18

Dispersal

Question 19

Species that have naturally evolved in an area

Answer 19

Native species

Question 20

When an organism is carried into a new location by people

Answer 20

Exotic species

Question 21

The typical weather pattern in an area over a long period of time

Answer 21

Climate

Question 22

A group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

Answer 22

Biome

Question 23

A leafy roof that tall trees form

Answer 23

Canopy

Question 24

A second layer of shorter trees and vines below a canopy

Answer 24

Understory

Question 25

An area that receives less than 25 centimeters of rain per year, the amount of evaporation is greater than the amount of perticipation

Answer 25

Desert

Question 26

Receives between 25 and 75 centimeters of rain each years and is typically populated by grasses and other non-woody plants

Answer 26

Grassland

Question 27

Grasslands that are located closer to the equator than prairies

Answer 27

Savanna

Question 28

Trees that shed their leaves and grow new ones each year

Answer 28

Deciduous trees

Question 29

Low-energy state similar to sleep, only for mammals

Answer 29

Hibernation

Question 30

Trees that produce their seeds in cones and have leaves shaped like needles

Answer 30

Coniferous trees

Question 31

An extremely cold, dry, land biome, there is not going to receive any more precipitation than the desert

Answer 31

Tundra

Question 32

The frozen soil in the tundra

Answer 32

Permafrost

Question 33

The first habitat found where the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the ocean

Answer 33

Estuary

Question 34

The part of the shore between the highest high-tide and the lowest low-tide line

Answer 34

Intertidal zone

Question 35

A region of shallow water that extends over the continental shelf below the low-tide line

Answer 35

Neritic zone

Question 36

The series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time

Answer 36

Succession

Question 37

The series of changes that occur in an area where no ecosystem previously existed

Answer 37

Primary succession

Question 38

The first species to populate an area

Answer 38

Pioneer species

Question 39

The series of changes that occur after a disturbance that have this effect include fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes

Answer 39

Secondary succession