Populations and Ecosystems
Cell
Smallest unit of life
Single-celled
When an organism only has one cell for it’s entire body
Cell membrane
Thin, flexible outer layer that allows things in and out
Cytoplasm
Jelly like fluid in the cell where all the other structures are found
Nucleus
Small structure that controls everything the cell does (the brain of the cell)
Vacuoles
Storage places in the cell, which holds water, waste, and other material until the cell can use it or get rid of it
Ecosystem
All of the living organisms and non-living parts of the environment
Biotic factors
Living parts in an environment
Abiotic factors
Non living parts in an environment
Population
Members of a specific organism in one area
communities
Groups of different populations in a certain area
Microorganisms
Living things that are too small too be seen without a magnifying device
Aquatic
Water based ecosystems
Terrestrial
Land based ecosystems
Forests
Terrestrial ecosystem with many trees and grasses, different types of animals, and lots of rain fall
Grasslands
Terrestrial ecosystem with fertile soil, tall grass, a medium amount of rain fall, and animals such as prairie dogs, bison, and
grasshoppers
Lakes and ponds
Freshwater ecosystems with fish, amphibians, ducks, and turtles
Oceans
Saltwater ecosystem
Shallow
The shore line from the continental shelf, where most organisms live because food is easy to find
Open water
Some organisms live here such as plankton that drifts on the surface, fish that swim for food and oxygen, and other such as
tubeworms that stay alive on the deep ocean floor
Estuaries
Where freshwater meets saltwater; the tides change the amount of salt in the water
Energy
All organism must have to survive and it comes from food
Producers
Organisms that produce their own food (plants)
Consumers
Organisms that do not produce their own food and need other organisms to live
Herbivores
Animals that eat only plants
Carnivores
Animals that eat only other animals
Omnivores
Animals that eat both plants and other animals
Decomposers
Consumers that feed on dead and decaying matter and in turn put nutrients back into the soil
Food chain
Shows the energy transfer from organism to organism and is usually at least 6 organisms long
Food web
More than one food chain put together
Predators
Organisms that hunt and kill other organisms for food
Prey
The animal that is hunted
Parasite
An organisms that lives on another organism and does it harm
host
The organism that the parasite lives on
Limiting factors
Resources in an ecosystem that there is only a certain amount of (shelter, space, food, water)
Balance of nature
The relationship between the number of organisms and the resources in an ecosytem
Science Vocabulary Terms – 3rd and 4th Nine Weeks
Landforms and Oceans
Constructive force
Destructive force
Deposition
Landslides
Volcanic eruption
Floods
Weathering
Erosion
Earthquakes
Continental shelf
Continental slope
Mid-ocean ridge
Rift zone
Trenches
Ocean basin
Abyssal plains
seamounts
Valley
Canyon
volcano
Mountain range
Plains
shoreline
Beach
Waves
crest
Trough
Breaker
currents
Longshore currents
Tides
Barrier islands
estuary
inlets
Force that builds up the land (deposition, landslides, volcanic eruption, flood)
Force that tears down the land (weathering, erosion, landslides, volcanic eruption, earthquakes, floods)
Constructive process that describes the dropping off and building up of moved sediments and soil in a new location
Can be destructive or constructive and are described by the mass movement of land due to gravity
Can be destructive or constructive and are mountains with openings from which lava bursts
Can be destructive or constructive and occur when large amounts of water cover land that is usually dry
Destructive process that describes the breaking down of rock
Destructive process that describes the movement of sediments and soil by wind, water, or gravity
Destructive process that produce vibrations of the Earth along a fault line and can cause landslides or tsunamis
Where the edges of the continents are under water
Steep slope where the shelf drops down to the ocean floor
Mountain range made of volcanic mountains that divides the ocean floor into two halves
The highest point of the mid-ocean ridge where the volcanic activity adds mounts to either side of the mid-ocean ridge
Similar to deep canyons, but they are on the ocean floor and are the deepest parts of the ocean basin
Bowl like are on either side of the mid-ocean ridge where trenches, abyssal plains, and seamounts are all found
Wide, flat lands found on the ocean basin
Underwater volcanic mountains that are not found on the mid-ocean ridge
Landform found between hills or mountains (similar to a rift on the ocean floor)
Landform that is a steep sided valley (similar to a trench found in the ocean)
Landform that is a mountain from which lave comes (similar to a seamount in the ocean)
Landform with more than one mountain (similar to a mid-ocean ridge in the ocean)
Landform that is wide and flat (similar to an abyssal plain in the ocean)
Area where the ocean meets the land
Sandy shoreline
Repeated movement of water that can wear away land or deposit sand along the shore
Highest point in a wave
Lowest point in a wave
Curl of the wave
Flowing streams of water in a specific direction on a curved path
Can move sand from one location to another on the beach
Regular rise and fall of ocean waters due to the moons gravity
Islands with sandy beaches that serve as a protector to the mainland
Place where a freshwater river meets a saltwater ocean
Water filled gaps between the mainland and barrier island where the amount of water changes due to the tides