Chapter 5: The Inhabitants of Planet Earth and Their Relationships (?/Jorden)

Question 1

the nonliving component of the Earth

Answer 1

abiotic

Question 2

the living components of the Earth

Answer 2

biotic

Question 3

movement of nutrients such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and water through the environment in complex cycles

Answer 3

biogeochemical cycles

Question 4

a place where a large quantity of nutrients sits for a long period of time

Answer 4

reservoir

Question 5

a site where a nutrient sits for only a short period of time

Answer 5

exchange pool

Question 6

the amount of time nutrient spends in a reservoir or exchange pool

Answer 6

residency time

Question 7

Law of Conservation of Matter

Answer 7

matter can be neither created nor destroyed

Question 8

the condensation of water in the atmosphere from a gaseous state to form a liquid or solid that becomes dense enough to fall to the Earth due to the pull of gravity

Answer 8

precipitation

Question 9

water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock

Answer 9

groundwater

Question 10

movement of water across the land’s surface that enters a drainage system that will eventually deposit into a body of water such as a lake or an ocean

Answer 10

runoff

Question 11

the process of water returning to the atmosphere from Earth’s surface and other living organisms

Answer 11

evaporation

Question 12

the process where plants absorb water then release large amounts of water vapor into the air

Answer 12

transpiration

Question 13

the process where animals and plants breath in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide

Answer 13

respiration

Question 14

the production of ammonia or ammonium compounds in the decomposition of organic matter, especially through the action of bacteria

Answer 14

ammonification

Question 15

the process in which plants absorb ammonium, ammonia ions, and nitrate ions through their roots

Answer 15

assimilation

Question 16

autotroph

Answer 16

producers; organisms that produce their own organic compounds from inorganic compounds. They use energy from the sun or from the oxidation of inorganic substances

Question 17

the accumulation of a substance, such as a toxic chemical in various tissues of a living organism

Answer 17

bioaccumulation

Question 18

true extermination of a species, there are no individuals of this species left on the planet

Answer 18

biological extinction

Question 19

the part of the Earth and its atmosphere where living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life

Answer 19

biosphere

Question 20

an animal that only consumes other animals

Answer 20

carnivore

Question 21

an organism, such as a bacterium or protozoan, that obtains its nourishment through the oxidation of inorganic chemical compounds, as opposed to photosynthesis

Answer 21

chemotroph (chemoautotroph)

Question 22

a stable, mature community in a successive series that has reached equilibrium after having evolved through stages and adapted to its environment

Answer 22

climax community

Question 23

the process of burning

Answer 23

combustion

Question 24

a few individuals exist but the effort needed to locate and harvest them is not worth the expense

Answer 24

commercial or economic extinction

Question 25

formed from populations of different species occupying the same geographic area

Answer 25

community

Question 26

the process that occurs when two different species in a region compete and the better-adapted species wins

Answer 26

competitive exclusion

Question 27

an organism that must obtain food energy from the secondary sources by, for example, eating plant or animal matter

Answer 27

consumer

Question 28

each of the feeding levels in a food chain

Answer 28

trophic level