Appendix Part 1
What are the 3 parts of the earth that every organism depends on?
the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere
What is every living thing on Earth made of?
carbon
What is the term used for the movement of matter within or between ecosystems?
Biogeochemical cycles
What is another name for producers who produce their own food using the sun’s light energy?
autotrophs
What is another name for consumers?
heterotrophs
Water cycles through our planet in a complex process known as the _________________.
water cycle or hydrologic cycle
What key nutrient is necessary for all life and essential for good plant growth?
nitrogen
What is the process where snow evaporates directly into water vapor gas, with no intermediate liquid stage?
sublimation
What is the name for organisms that eat detritus or dead organic matter and waste products?
Detritivores
Nitrogen makes up what percentage of our atmosphere?
78%
Water vapor returning to a liquid and forming clouds is called ____________________ .
Condensation
What is the only form of energy that continuously enters earth’s ecosphere?
sunlight
What is the term for the overland flow of water?
surface runoff
Bacteria and fungi that consume dead matter and return vital nutrients to the environment are also known as ___________.
Decomposers
Nitrogen can be “fixed” to the soil through special bacteria in the soil found on the roots of what type of plants?
legumes
What is the term to describe water vapor changing directly into ice, such frost?
deposition
Energy is neither created nor _______________.
destroyed
What is the term to describe how organisms get their energy by breaking down sugar?
respiration
What percentage of energy is transferred to the consuming organism, as displayed in an energy pyramid?
10%
Peas, red clover, and soybeans are examples of what type of plant?
legumes
What is the process organisms use to change the sun’s light energy into chemical energy?
Photosynthesis
What is the branch of science concerned with the classification of organisms?
Taxonomy
What is the term for the energy flow from one organism to the next?
food chain
What is another name for herbivores?
Primary consumers
When decomposers break down plant or animal matter or wastes, are 2 nutrients are released to the soil to be reused by plants?
phosphorus and sulfur