Enviromental Science Ch.3 and Ch.4, Holt
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Created by:
MylesC on September 19, 2011
Subjects:
Description:
Chapters are titled "The Dynamic Earth"(Ch.3) and "The Organization of Life" (Ch. 4)
Classes:
Y.A.L.E. Faculty Editors, YALE Students
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44 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 ecosystem | a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment |
| biotic factor | a living part of an ecosystem |
| Abiotic factors | nonliving parts of an ecosystem |
| organism | an individual living thing |
| species | group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring |
| population | all the members of one species in a particular area |
| community | a group of various species that live in the same place and interact with each other |
| habitat | the place an organism lives |
| natural selection | process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully; also called survival of the fittest |
| evolution | change in the genetic characteristics of a population from one generation to the next |
| adaptation | an inherited trait that increases an organism's chance of survival and reproduction in a certain environment |
| artificial selection | the selective breeding of organisms by humans for specific characteristics |
| resistance | the ability of one or more organisms to tolerated a particular chemical designed to kill it. |
| archaebacteria | single celled; lack cell nuclei; reproduce by dividing in half; often found in harsh environments; e.g - methanogens |
| eubacteria | single celled; lack cell nuclei; reproduce by dividing half; incredibly common; e.g - blue-green algae |
| fungus | an organism whose cells have nuclei and cell walls. absorb their food through body surface; have cell walls; most live on land |
| protists | diverse group of one-celled organisms and their many celled relatives. They are often classified as plant-like, animal-like, and fungus-like. most live in water. Malaria is a protist |
| Gymnosperm | woody plants that produce seeds, but their seeds are not enclosed in fruits |
| angiosperm | a flowering plant that produces seeds within a fruit |
| invertebrates | animals that lack backbones |
| vertebrates | animals that have backbones |
| geosphere | the solid part of the Earth that consists of all rock, and the soils and sediments on Earth's surface |
| crust | Earth's thin outer layer composed almost entirely of light elements |
| mantle | the layer of the earth between the crust and the core |
| core | Earth's innermost layer composed of the densest elements |
| lithosphere | Earth's outer layer that is cool and rigid and includes the crust and uppermost part of the mantle. It is made up of tectonic plates. |
| asthenosphere | the layer beneath the lithosphere and mesosphere; tectonic plates rest on it |
| tectonic plates | Sections of the Earth's lithosphere that rest on top and glide across the underlying asthenosphere |
| erosion | condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind |
| atmosphere | the envelope of gases surrounding any celestial body |
| troposphere | the layer closest to Earth, where almost all weather occurs; the thinnest layer |
| stratosphere | the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer |
| ozone | a form of oxygen that has three oxygen atoms in each molecule instead of two. protects us from dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun |
| radiation | transfer of energy across space |
| conduction | heat transfer by direct contact |
| convection | the transfer of heat by air currents |
| greenhouse effect | the process in which gases trap heat near the Earth |
| water cycle | the continuous process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back |
| evaporation | the process by which water changes from liquid form to an atmospheric gas |
| condensation | the process in which water vapor forms water droplets on dust particles |
| precipitation | the falling to earth of any form of water (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist) |
| salinity | the relative proportion of salt in a solution |
| fresh water | water that contains insignificant amounts of salts, as in rivers and lakes |
| biosphere | Thin zone of the earth that supports all life |
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