Sceince 10 Exam Review Chapter 3

Front 1

Climate

Back 1

The long term pattern of temperature and precipitation

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Latitude

Back 2

The location of a place on earth north or south of the equator, which is designated as zero degrees

Front 3

Elevation

Back 3

Refers to height above(or below) sea level

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Climatograph

Back 4

A graph showing monthly changes in temperature and precipitation throughout a year

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Biome

Back 5

A large ecosystem with a specific range of abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and characteristic organisms(including plants and animals)

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Tundra

Back 6

A massive biome that extends in a continuous belt across Canada, Alaska, Asia and Europe; characterized by very little precipitation, permafrost and small, slow growing plants such as grasses and mosses; the growing season is limited to a brief period of about 8 weeks during the summer, preventing any significant tree growth

Front 7

Permafrost

Back 7

The layer of permanently frozen subsoil in polar regions

Front 8

Boreal forest

Back 8

The biome characterized by acidic soils, dry winters, moderate precipitation, and the growth of conifers; stretches across the northern parts of North America, Asia and Europe, known as taiga

Front 9

Canopy

Back 9

The upper layer of vegetation in a forest; often creates a dense layer, or cover, that prevents most sunlight from reaching the forest floor

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Temperate deciduous forest

Back 10

The biome characterized by higher temperatures than the boreal forest and 75-220cm of precipitation per year that supports the growth of huge forests of broad leaf tress; covers regions in southwestern Canada, the eastern U.S. and large areas of Europe and Asia

Front 11

Understorey

Back 11

The flowers, ferns, shrubs, and small trees that grow below the canopy layer in a forest

Front 12

Temperate Rain Forests

Back 12

One of the One of the world’s rarest biomes; characterized by abundant moisture, mild climate, thick and rich soil, and the growth of shrubs and small trees; currently found only in BC, Alaska and Chile

Front 13

Grassland

Back 13

The biome characterized by rainfall between 25 and 75 cm per year supporting the growth of grasses

Front 14

Savannah

Back 14

A tropical grassland biome; of all the biomes, savannas support the greatest number and variety of large herbivores

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Tropical rainforest

Back 15

The biome characterized by rainfall between 200 and 450 cm annually and temperatures between 20-25 degrees throughout the year; believed to contain at least 50% of Earth’s terrestrial organisms

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Polar Ice

Back 16

The biome characterized by the presence of permanent ice and the absence of terrestrial vegetation; occurs at the North and South poles

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Adaption

Back 17

Any genetic trait that improves an organisms chance of surviving and reproducing

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Natural Selection

Back 18

A process that favours the survival of organisms with traits that make them better adapted to the environment tends to eliminate those individuals that are poorly adapted.

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Mimicry

Back 19

A strategy where by one species resembles another that is poisonous, dangerous, or distasteful to avoid predation; also refers to situations where two harmful species have similar coloration

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Coevolution

Back 20

A type of interaction involving the adaptation of two species in response to each other

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Biodiversity

Back 21

The variety of, and the varation among, organisms within a given ecosystem, biome, or the entire earth

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Primary productivity

Back 22

A measure of the available energy provided by the producers in an ecosystem

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Extinction

Back 23

When a species is gone completely from Earth or when so few individuals remain that reproduction is not possible

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Extirpation

Back 24

The phenomenon of local extinction that occurs when a species ceases to exist in one area but still exist elsewhere in the world

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Keystone Species

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A species whose presence plays an important ecological role in determining the types and numbers of other species in particular ecosystems, when these species are eliminated, the effects on the ecosystem are dramatic

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Niche

Back 26

The overall role of an organism in community, including the biotic and abiotic conditions that the organism can tolerate

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Competition

Back 27

When two organisms make use of the same resource so that their niches overlap

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Interspecific Competition

Back 28

Competition between organisms of the same species

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Intraspecific Competition

Back 29

Competition between organisms of the same species

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Resource Partitioning

Back 30

A process that reduces or eliminates competition for similar resources by individuals of different species; species develop adaptation that allow them to occupy different non-overlapping ecological niches and partition available resources

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Adaptive Radiation

Back 31

Occurs when the species adapt differently to changes in the environment and become specialized in order to exploit smaller parts of the ecological niche

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Proliferation

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Increase in numbers of individuals with new adaptive traits resulting from natural selection; population with new adaptations will proliferate until further selective pressure leads to further adaptations

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Foreign Species

Back 33

Species that are not native to a particular ecosystem; they are often able to out compete the existing native species for a particular niche

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Ecological Succession

Back 34

A gradual change in the types of plants represent the structure of a community

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Pioneer Species

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Refers to the first species to arrive and colonize a new environment; over time, the presence of the pioneer species changes the environment, creating acceptable conditions for the other species

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Primary Succession

Back 36

One of two types of ecological succession; the occupation by plant life of an area not previously covered by vegetation

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Climax Community

Back 37

A complex stable ecosystem reached during late successional stages

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Secondary Succession

Back 38

One of two types of succession; the occupation by plant life in an area that was previously covered by vegetation but where there has been a significant disturbance such as fire, flooding, landslides, or forest harvesting