Chapter 1

a community of living organisms that interact with each other and their environment

e.g. Pond, Forest, Mountain

an ecosystem that can thrive and support itself and its organisms without any external assistance

e.g. Appalachians

the living parts of an ecosystem

e.g. Tree, Fish, Fox, Hawk, Rotting Log

The non-living parts of an ecosystem

e.g. Water, Rocks, Air

• the hard outer part of the Earth
• crust and mantle

• all water found on Earth
• e.g. lakes, oceans, rivers, ground water

layer of gases above the earth's surface

e.g. Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon Dioxide

the places on Earth where living organisms live

e.g. Forest, Oceans

a chemical that is essential for the growth of living things 

transfers through the ecosystem

e.g. Glucose

when nutrient levels increase in aquatic ecosystems causing an increase in the growth of primary producers

e.g. too much phosphorus will cause an overgrowth of algae

a process that changes solar energy into chemical energy to be used as food

• carbon dioxide + water -> glucose + oxygen
• (light and chlorophyll are needed)

A categorization of organisms based on how they gain their energy

• e.g. level 1: Primary Producer -  Plant
•        level 2: Primary Consumer - Cricket
•        level 3: Secondary Consumer - Rabbit
•        level 4: Tertiary Consumer - Hawk

total mass of biotic organisms in a certain area

e.g. the mass of all trees in a forest

the amount of energy or biomass transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level

usually 10% from one level to the next higher level

when a living thing consumes toxins faster than they are eliminated

e.g. a fish consuming mercury from pollution

when the amount of consumed toxins increases as it moves from one trophic level to the next

e.g. Heron eating a fish full of mercury and consuming the mercury.

the process when energy is released from glucose using oxygen

e.g. Humans use oxygen from cellular respiration

the process when energy is released from glucose even though oxygen is not present

e.g. Fungi and bacteria use fermentation to get their energy

a gas in the atmosphere that prevents heat from leaving the atmosphere, increasing the temperature of the atmosphere

e.g. Carbon Dioxide, CFCs, Phosphorus, Nitrous Oxide

the warming of the Earth causes by the greenhouse gases, which trap some of the energy that would normally leave the Earth

e.g. The earth is warming from the greenhouse effect which is melting the polar ice caps

Precipitation that is unnaturally acidic due to gases in the air

Gasses such as nitrous oxide and sulfuric oxide

e.g. Acid rain that kills trees by releasing aluminum in the soil to cover roots so they can't absorb nutrients