Science flash cards

Question 1

Biosphere

Answer 1

part of Earth in which life exists including land, water, and air or atmosphere

Question 2

Ecology

Answer 2

scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment

Question 3

species

Answer 3

a group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Question 4

Population

Answer 4

group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area

Question 5

Community

Answer 5

assemblage of different populations that live together in a defined area

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Biotic Factor

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Atmosphere

Answer 8

thin layer of gases that surround Earth

Question 9

Abiotic Factor

Answer 9

physical, or nonliving, factor that shapes an ecosystem

Question 9

Hydrosphere

Answer 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

Question 9

Geosphere

Answer 9

all of the rock at and below Earth’s surface

Question 10

Biome

Answer 10

a group of ecosystems that share similar climates and typical organisms

Question 10

Taiga

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Permafrost

Answer 11

layer of permanently frozen subsoil found in the tundra

Question 12

Wetland

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Estuary

Answer 13

kind of wetland formed where a river meets the ocean

Question 14

Climate

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Weather

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Green-House Effect

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Plankton

Answer 17

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