Flashcards: Vocabulary #13
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Created by:
titansforever on January 22, 2012
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 evaporation | the change of a substance from a liquid to a gas |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls to the Earth's surface from the clouds |
| combustion | the burning of a substance |
| condensation | the change of state from a gas to a liquid |
| decomposition | the breakdown of substances into simpler molecular substances |
| succession | the replacement of one type of community by another at a single place over a period of time |
| biome | a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities. |
| savanna | a grassland that often has scattered trees and that is found in tropical and subtropical areas where seasonal rains, fires, and droughts happen. |
| desert | a region that has little or no plant life, long periods without rain, and extreme temperatures; usually found in hot climates. |
| tundra | a treeless plain found in the Artic, in the Antarctic, or on the tops of mountains that is characterized by very low winter temperatures and short, cool summers. |
| plankton | a mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in freshwater and marine environments. |
| estuary | an area where fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean. |
| wetland | an area of land that is periodically underwater or whose soil contains a great deal of moisture. |
| marsh | a treeless wetland ecosystem where plants such as grasses grow. |
| swamp | a wetland ecosystem in which scrubs and trees grow. |
| deciduous forest | a forest characterized by trees that lose their leaves yearly. |
| coniferous forest | a forest characterized by trees that produce seeds in cones, have a waxy coating, and stay green all year. |
| tropical rain forest | a forest characterized by the largest number of species, poor soil, abundant rainfall, and warm temperatures. |
| grassland | an area found on every continent, characterized by flat or gently rolling hills and also know as a steppe, prairie, and pampa. |
| temperate | moderate in respect to temperature; not subject to prolonged extremes of hot or cold weather. |