Chapter 3 - Vocabulary Flashcards
Species
The entirety of a population that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
Population
A certain number of individuals that make up the interbreeding, reproducing group
Biotic community / Biota (living)
The grouping or assemblage of plants, animals, and microbes
Abiotic
The nonliving, chemical, and physical factors, such as the amount of water or moisture present, the climate, the salinity, or the type of soil in the area
Ecosystems
A grouping of plants, animals, and microbes occupying an explicit unit of space and interacting with each other and their environment. Ecosystems are functional units of sustainable life on Earth
Ecotone
A transitional area between two adjacent ecosystems that has characteristics of both
Landscapes
A group of interacting ecosystems. Landscape ecology is the science that studies the interactions among ecosystems
Biomes
Similar or related ecosystems or landscapes that are often grouped together (Ex: desert, tropical rain forest, tundra, etc.)
Biosphere
All species and physical factors on Earth functioning as one unified ecosystem
Conditions
Abiotic factors that vary in space and time but are not used up or made unavailable to other species
(Ex. temperature, wind, pH (acidity), salinity (saltiness), and fire)
Resources
Any factors (biotic or abiotic) that are consumed by organisms
Optimum
A certain level at which the organisms do best (best response occurs)
Range of tolerance
The entire span that allows any growth at all
Limits of tolerance
The points at the high and low ends of the range of tolerance
Zones of stress
Region between the optimal range and the high or low limits of tolerance
Limiting factor
A factor that limits growth
Ecology
The study of all processes influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms and the interactions between living things and their environment
Law of Limiting Factors
“Every species (both plant and animal) has an optimal range, zones of stress, and limits of tolerance with respect to every abiotic factor.”
(or Liebig’s law of minimums, 1840)
Synergistic effects / synergism
Two or more factors interacting in a way that causes an effect much greater than one would anticipate from the effects of each of the two acting separately
Habitat
Refers to the kind of place where a species is biologically adapted to live
Ecological niche
What the animal feeds on, where it feeds, when it feeds, where it finds shelter, where it nests, and how it responds to abiotic factors
Matter
Anything that has mass and occupies space
States of Matter
Solid, liquid, and gas
Atoms
The basic building blocks of all matter (94 natural / 21 synthetic)
Law of Conservation of Matter
Atoms are neither created nor destroyed during chemical reactions. The same number and kind of different atoms exist before and after any reaction
Molecule
Consists of two or more atoms bonded together in a specific way
Compound
Consists of two or more different kinds of atoms bonded together
Biosphere
All life on Earth
Atmosphere
The thin layer of gases separating Earth from outer space
Hydrosphere
Water (oceans, rivers, ice, and groundwater)
Lithosphere
Earth’s crust (made up of rocks, soil, and minerals)
Mineral
Any hard, crystalline, inorganic material of a given chemical composition
CHNOPS
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, Sulfur
Organic
The chemical compounds making up the tissues of living organisms (carbon-based molecules)
Inorganic
All other molecules or compounds (those with neither carbon-carbon nor carbon-hydrogen bonds)
Energy
Anything that has the ability to move matter, has no mass and does not occupy space
Calorie
The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram (1 mL) of water 1 degree Celsius
Kinetic Energy
Energy in action or motion (light, heat energy, physical motion, and electrical current)
Potential Energy
Energy in storage. Has the capacity, or potential, to release one or more forms of kinetic energy (gasoline and other fuels)
Chemical Energy
The potential energy contained in such chemicals and fuels
Temperature
Measures the molecular motion in a substance caused by the kinetic energy present in it
1st Law of Thermodynamics / Law of Conservation of Energy (CHANGE)
Energy is neither created nor destroyed but may be
converted from one form to another
2nd Law of Thermodynamics / Law of Entropy (LOSS)
In any energy conversion, you will end up with less usable energy than you started with
Entropy
A measure of the degree of disorder in a system (the loss of usable energy to heat is the principle of increasing entropy)
Heat Energy
The lowest (most disordered) form of energy
Photosynthesis
6CO2 + 6H2O —> C6H12O6 + 6O2
Cellular Respiration
C6H12O6 + 6O2 —> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy
Oxidation
Breakdown of molecules (a loss of electrons)
Cellulose
Material of plant cell walls (fiber, bulk, or roughage)
Fermentation
Anaerobic process (oxygen-free) - results in such end products as ethyl alcohol: (C2H6O), methane gas (CH4), and acetic acid (C2H4O2)
