The Dynamics Of Life Unit 2 Ch 2 - 3

Front 1

Nonliving parts of an organism's environment; air currents, temperature, moisture, light, and soil are examples of _______ factors.

Back 1

abiotic

Front 2

The __________ is the portion of Earth that supports life; extends from high in the atmosphere to the bottom of the oceans.

Back 2

biosphere

Front 3

All the living organisms that inhabit the environment are ________ factors.

Back 3

biotic

Front 4

A community made up of interacting populations in a certain area at a certain time is called a(n) _______________.

Back 4

biological community

Front 5

___________ is the exchange of information that results in a change of behavior.

Back 5

commensalism

Front 6

___________ is the scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environments.

Back 6

ecology

Front 7

The interactions among populations in a community, the community's physical surroundings (abiotic factors) are called the ___________.

Back 7

ecosystem

Front 8

A(n) __________ is the place where an organism lives out its life.

Back 8

habitat

Front 9

__________ is a symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.

Back 9

mutualism

Front 10

The role or position a species has in its environment (included biotic and abiotic interactions as an animal meets its needs for survival and resproduction) is called its _________.

Back 10

niche

Front 11

___________ is a symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another, usually another species.

Back 11

parasitism

Front 12

A(n) ______________ is a group of organisms all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time.

Back 12

population

Front 13

_________ is a permanent, close association between two or more organisms of different species.

Back 13

symbiosis

Front 14

These ecosystems are _______ ecosystems. Forest, old farm field, meadow, yard, garden plat, empty lot, compost heap, volcano site, rotting log.

Back 14

terrestrial

Front 15

These ecosystems are _______ ecosystems. Pond, lake, stream, estuary, ocean, aquarium.

Back 15

aquatic

Front 16

An organism that uses light energy or energy stored in chemical compounds to make energy-rich compounds is a producer or _________.

Back 16

autotroph

Front 17

An organism that cannot make its own food and feeds on other organisms is called a(n) ________.

Back 17

heterotroph

Front 18

________ break down the complex compounds of dead or decaying plants and animals into simpler molecules that can be more easily absorbed.

Back 18

decomposers

Front 19

A(n) _________ is a simple model that scientists use to show how matter and energy move through an ecosystem.

Back 19

food chain

Front 20

Each organism in a food chain represents a feeding step or _____________, in the passage of energy and materials.

Back 20

trophic level

Front 21

A model that shows all the possible feeding relationships at each trophic level in a community is called a(n) ________.

Back 21

food web

Front 22

__________ is the total weight of living matter at each trophic level.

Back 22

biomass

Front 23

List the parts of the water cycle. (list 6)

Back 23

transpiration/evaporation
condensation
precipitation
runoff/groundwater

Front 24

List the parts of the carbon cycle. (list 6)

Back 24

respiration/fuel combustion
photosynthesis
death/decay
fossil fuels

Front 25

List the parts of the nitrogen cycle. (list 8)

Back 25

1. nitrogen in the atmosphere
2. nitrogen-fixing bacteria
3. nitrogen-releasing soil bacteria
4. assimilation by plants
5. consumption of plants/plant-eating animals
6. evaporation
7. urine and dead plants/animals
8. decomposing bacteria and fungi

Front 26

List the parts of the phosphorus cycle. (list

Back 26

1. Weathering rocks
2. animal and plant wastes
3. soil decomposers
4. rain and groundwater leaching take into bodies of water
5. assimilated by plants
6. sediments build in bodies of water and form new rocks
7. geological process bring the new rocks to the surface where they weather.

Front 27

In an ecosystem, energy is _________ and matter is _________.

Back 27

lost, recycled (the energy is replenished by the sun)