Chapter 4 Key Terms

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a community of organisms and their abiotic environment

Question 2

biotic factor

Answer 2

an environmental factor that is associated with or results from the activities of living organisms

Question 3

abiotic factor

Answer 3

describes the non-living part of the environment, including water, rocks, light, and temperature

Question 4

organism

Answer 4

a living thing; anything that can carry out life processes independently

Question 5

species

Answer 5

a group of organisms that are closely related and can mate to produce fertile offspring; also the level of classification below genus and above subspecies

Question 6

population

Answer 6

a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area and interbreed

Question 7

community

Answer 7

a group of various species that live in the same habitat and interact with each other

Question 8

habitat

Answer 8

the place where an organism usually lives

Question 9

natural selection

Answer 9

the process by which individuals that are better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well adapted individuals do; a theory to explain the mechanism of evolution

Question 10

evolution

Answer 10

a heritable change in the characteristics within a population from one generation to them next; the development of new types of organisms from preexisting types of organisms over time

Question 11

adaptation

Answer 11

the process of becoming adapted to an environment; an anatomical, physiological, or behavioral change that improves a population’s ability to survive

Question 12

artificial selection

Answer 12

the selective breeding of organ-isms (by humans) for specific desirable characteristics

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

in biology, the ability of an organism to tolerate a chemical or disease-causing agent

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

prokaryotes that are distinguished from other prokaryotes by differences in their genetics and in the makeup of their cell wall; members of the domain Archaea

Question 15

bacteria

Answer 15

extremely small, single-celled organisms that usually have a cell wall and reproduce by cell division

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

an organism whose cells have nuclei, rigid cell walls, and no chlorophyll and that belongs to the kingdom Fungi

Question 17

protist

Answer 17

an organism that belongs to the kingdom Protista

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

a woody vascular seed plant whose seeds are not enclosed by an ovary or fruit

Question 19

angiosperm

Answer 19

a flowering plant that produces seeds within a fruit

Question 20

invertebrate

Answer 20

an animal that does not have a backbone

Question 21

vertebrate

Answer 21

an animal that has a backbone; includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish