ecosystem Flashcards
photosynthesis
a process where plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce glucose (sugar)
carbohydrates
another word for sugar molecules or food
chloroplast
a plant’s organelle responsible for capturing sunlight to make sugar
chlorophyll
a green pigment found inside a plant’s leaves
cellular respiration
process where organisms use oxygen to break down food (sugar) to produce energy
producer
an organism that makes its own food
autotrophs
another word for producer
consumers
organisms that get their energy by eating other organisms
heterotrophs
another word for consumers
herbivores
plant eaters
carnivores
meat eaters
omnivores
eater of everything
decomposers
consumers that get their food from breaking down dead organisms
food chain
a sequence where energy is transferred from one organism to the next as each organism eats another organism
food web
a diagram that shows many feeding relationships in an ecosystem
trophic level
each step in the transfer of energy through a food chain or food web
how is energy transferred?
plant uses energy from sunlight to make sugar and then is then passes on to consumers
describe one way consumers depend on producers on producers
cows need to eat grass to get energy
list two types of consumers
primary consumer (cow) and secondary consumer (lion)
