Chapter 3 Science

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

assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area

Answer 4

community

Question 4

assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area

Answer 4

population

Question 5

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

Answer 5

ecosystem

Question 6

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

Answer 6

biotic factor

Question 7

physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem

Answer 7

abiotic factor

Question 8

thin layer of gases that surround Earth

Answer 8

atmosphere

Question 9

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 9

hydrosphere

Question 10

all of the rock at and below Earth’s surface

Answer 10

geosphere

Question 11

a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Answer 11

biome

Question 12

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

Answer 12

taiga

Question 13

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

Answer 13

wetland

Question 14

layer of permanently frozen subsoil found in the tundra

Answer 14

permafrost

Question 15

kind of wetland formed where a river meets the ocean

Answer 15

estuary

Question 16

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

Answer 16

climate

Question 17

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

Answer 17

weather

Question 18

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

Answer 18

greenhouse effect

Question 19

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

Answer 19

plankton