Ch. 14 Life and the Environment

Question 1

population density

Answer 1

size of a population that occupies an area of limited size

Question 2

parasitism

Answer 2

symbiotic relationship that benefits the parasite and does harm to the host body

Question 3

limiting factor

Answer 3

any biotic or abiotic factor that restrict the number of individuals in a population

Question 4

biosphere

Answer 4

part of the Earth that supports organisms, is the highest level of biological organization, and is made up of all Earth’s ecosystems

Question 5

commensalism

Answer 5

symbiotic relationship that benefits one partner but does not harm or help the other

Question 6

abiotic factor

Answer 6

all the nonliving, physical features of the environment (including light, soil, water, temperature, and help determine what species can live in that environment)

Question 7

ecosystem

Answer 7

consists of a biotic community and the abiotic factors that affect it

Question 8

carrying capacity

Answer 8

largest number of individuals an environment ca support and maintain over a long period of time

Question 9

symbiosis

Answer 9

any close relationship between two or more different species

Question 10

biotic factor

Answer 10

living or once-living organisms in the environment

Question 11

mutualism

Answer 11

symbiotic relationship that benefits both species

Question 12

population

Answer 12

all the individuals of one species that live in the same area at the same time and compete with each other for food, water, mates, and space

Question 13

niche

Answer 13

role of an organism in the ecosystem, including what it eats, how it interacts with other organisms, and how it gets its food

Question 14

ecology

Answer 14

study of the interactions that take place among organisms and between organisms and the physical features of the environment

Question 15

habitat

Answer 15

physical location where an organism lives

Question 16

community

Answer 16

all the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time

Question 17

food web

Answer 17

model used to describe a series of overlapping food chains and that shows the many organisms that feed on more than one level in an ecosystem

Question 18

food chain

Answer 18

model that describes the feeding relationships in a community, usually has three or four links, and shows how energy in the form of food passes from one organism to another