Biology Unit A

Front 1

Dynamic Equilibrium

Back 1

Describes any system with constant change in which the components can adjust to the changes without disturbing the entire system

Front 2

Biosphere

Back 2

The narrow zone around the Earth that harbours life

Front 3

Biotic Component

Back 3

The biological or living components of the biosphere

Front 4

Abiotic Components

Back 4

The non-living components of the biosphere. They include chemical and physical factors

Front 5

Population

Back 5

A group of individuals of the same species occupying a given area at a certain time

Front 6

Community

Back 6

The populations of all species that occupy a habitat

Front 7

Ecosystem

Back 7

A community and it's physical and chemical environments

Front 8

Biodiversity

Back 8

The number of species in an ecosystem

Front 9

Food Chain

Back 9

A sequence linking organisms that feed on each other, starting with a food source and continuing in order with each consumer

Front 10

Producer

Back 10

An autotroph; an organism that makes its own food

Front 11

Consumer

Back 11

A heterotroph; an organism that must eat producers or other consumers to survive

Front 12

Herbivore

Back 12

An animal that only eats plants

Front 13

Carnivore

Back 13

An animal that feeds only on other animals

Front 14

Omnivore

Back 14

An animal that eats both plants and other animals

Front 15

Detritus

Back 15

Waste from plants and animals, including their dead remains

Front 16

Decomposer

Back 16

An organism that feeds on detritus

Front 17

Habitat

Back 17

A place or a type of environment with conditions suitable for the survival of an organism or population of organisms

Front 18

Ultraviolet Radiation

Back 18

Electromagnetic Radiation from the sun that can cause burning of the skin (skin burn) and cellular mutations

Front 19

Ozone

Back 19

An inorganic molecule. A layer of ozone found in the stratosphere helps to screen that ultraviolet radiation

Front 20

Trophic Level

Back 20

A category of living things defined by how it gains its energy; the first trophic contains autotrophs, and each higher level contains heterotrophs

Front 21

Autotroph

Back 21

An organism that uses the sun's energy and raw materials to make its own food, a producer

Front 22

Primary Consumer

Back 22

In a food chain or food web, an organism that relies directly on autotrophs for its source of energy, at the second of trophic level

Front 23

Heterotroph

Back 23

An organism that is incapable of making its own food, and so it must feed on other organisms to gain energy

Front 24

Food web

Back 24

A representative of the feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem

Front 25

Photosynthesis

Back 25

The process by which green plants and some other organisms use solar energy, carbon dioxide, and water, producing carbohydrates

Front 26

Cellular Respiration

Back 26

The process by which cells break down glucose into carbon dioxide and water, releasing energy

Front 27

Chemosynthesis

Back 27

The process by which non-photosynthetic organisms convert inorganic chemicals to organic compounds without solar energy

Front 28

Chemoautotroph

Back 28

An organism that can synthesize organic compounds from inorganic chemicals without using solar energy

Front 29

Ecological Pyramid

Back 29

A representation of energy flows in food chains and webs

Front 30

Biomass

Back 30

The total dry mass of all the living material in an ecosystem

Front 31

Glucose

Back 31

A sugar, sugars are used to store energy

Front 32

Polar Molecule

Back 32

A molecule that has a positive and a negative end

Front 33

Hydrogen Bond

Back 33

The type of bond that is formed between the positive end of one water molecule and the negative end of another water molecule

Front 34

Hydrological cycle (water cycle)

Back 34

The movement of water through the environment from the atmosphere to Earth and back

Front 35

Transpiration

Back 35

The loss of water through plant leaves

Front 36

Percolation

Back 36

The movement of liquid through a porous material, such as soil particles

Front 37

Water table

Back 37

The top level of the region below the ground that is saturated with water

Front 38

Leaching

Back 38

The removal of soluble minerals by percolation

Front 39

Carbon Cycle

Back 39

The cycle of matter in which carbon atoms move from an inorganic form to an organic form and then back to an inorganic form

Front 40

Combustion

Back 40

The chemical reaction that occurs when a substance reacts very quickly with oxygen to release energy

Front 41

Peat

Back 41

Slowly decomposing plant matter produced in low-oxygen environments such as bogs

Front 42

Albedo

Back 42

A term used to describe the extent to which a surface can reflect light that strikes it. An albedo of 0.08 means 8% of the light is reflected

Front 43

Nitrogen Fixation

Back 43

Two processes in which atmospheric or dissolved nitrogen is converted into nitrate ions

Front 44

Denitrification

Back 44

The process in which nitrates are converted to nitrites and then to nitrogen gas

Front 45

Fertilizer

Back 45

A material used to restore nutrients to plants

Front 46

Phosphorus cycle

Back 46

The cycling of phosphorus between the biotic and abiotic components of the environment; consists of a biological and geochemical cycle

Front 47

Nutrient

Back 47

A chemical that is essential to living things