chpt.4

Question 1

ecosystem

Answer 1

a biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

Question 2

biotic factor

Answer 2

Biotic components, or biotic factors, can be described as any living component that affects another organism or shapes the ecosystem. This includes both animals that consume other organisms within their ecosystem, and the organism that is being consumed

Question 3

abiotic factor

Answer 3

In biology and ecology, abiotic components or abiotic factors are non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. Abiotic factors and the phenomena associated with them underpin biology as a whole.

Question 4

organisms

Answer 4

In biology, an organism is any individual entity that embodies the properties of life. It is a synonym for “life form”. Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and fungi; or unicellular microorganisms such as protists, bacteria, and archaea

Question 5

species

Answer 5

In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity

Question 6

population

Answer 6

all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.

Question 7

community

Answer 7

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common

Question 8

habitat

Answer 8

the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism.

Question 9

natural selection

Answer 9

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The theory of its action was first fully expounded by Charles Darwin and is now believed to be the main process that brings about evolution.

Question 10

evolution

Answer 10

the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.

Question 11

adaptation

Answer 11

In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the population during that process

Question 12

artificial selection

Answer 12

Selective breeding is the process by which humans use animal breeding and plant breeding to selectively develop particular phenotypic traits by choosing which typically animal or plant males and females will sexually reproduce and have offspring together.

Question 13

resistance

Answer 13

The natural or genetic ability of an organism to avoid or repel attack by biotic agents (pathogens, pests, parasites, etc.) or to withstand the effects of abiotic agents (chemicals, pesticides, salt, wind, heavy metals, etc).

Question 14

archaea

Answer 14

Archaea constitute a domain of single-celled organisms. These microorganisms lack cell nuclei and are therefore prokaryotes. Archaea were initially classified as bacteria, receiving the name archaebacteria, but this classification is obsolete

Question 15

bacteria

Answer 15

Bacteria are a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats.

Question 16

fungus

Answer 16

any of a group of spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.

Question 17

protist

Answer 17

A protist is any eukaryotic organism that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor, the exclusion of other eukaryotes means that protists do not form a natural group, or clade.

Question 18

gymnosperm

Answer 18

a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. Gymnosperms include the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo

Question 19

anigosperm

Answer 19

The flowering plants, also known as Angiospermae, or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants, with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera and 300,000 known species. Like gymnosperms, angiosperms are seed-producing plants.

Question 20

invertebrate

Answer 20

Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord. This includes all animals apart from the subphylum Vertebrata. Familiar examples of invertebrates include arthropods, mollusks, annelid, and cnidarians.

Question 21

vertebrate

Answer 21

an animal of a large group distinguished by the possession of a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.