Vocab 1
Organism – An individual animal, plant, or single celled life form.
Population – A group of organisms of the same species living in a particular area.
Community – A group of organisms interacting in a particular area.
Habitat – An area where an organism has everything it needs to survive (food, water, and shelter)
Species - A group of organisms which are different from all other groups of organisms.
Biotic – Living organisms.
Abiotic – Non-living objects. Such as, rocks, water, and air.
Ecosystem – A community of living organisms interacting with abiotic components of the
environment.
Tools – Modified natural objects designed to carry out a particular function.
Exoskeleton – external skeleton that supports and protects an animal’s body
Herbivore – Animals which eat only plants (cows, deer, and elephants)
Carnivore – Animals which eat only meat (lions, wolves, and eagles)
Omnivore – Animals which eat both meat and plants (humans, bears, and turtles)
Proboscis – tubular mouth part used for feeding and drinking
Molting – shedding of the exoskeleton in order to grow
Nymph – immature insect
Incomplete Metamorphosis – gradual maturing of an insect, goes through 3 stages; egg, nymph,
and adult
Clutch – A grouping or cluster of eggs
Environment – The surroundings of an organism, the area
Aquatic – Of the water
Terrestrial – Of the land
Vocab 2
Food Chain – A sequence of organisms that eat one another
Autotroph – Organisms that make their own food
Producer – An organism that is able to produce its own food through photosynthesis
Photosynthesis – The process by which producers make carbohydrates from water, CO2, and
light. An important waste product is oxygen.
Carbohydrate – Food in the form of sugar or starch, high energy
Heterotroph – An organism that cannot make its own food and must eat other organisms to
survive
Consumer – An organism that eats other organisms
Predation – the act of a predator feeding on its prey
Respiration – The process by which consumers use energy stored in carbohydrates. Uses oxygen
and gives off carbon dioxide as waste.
Decomposer – An organism that consumes parts of dead organisms and transfers all the biomass
into simple chemicals
Detritus – Small parts of organic material
Limiting Factor – Any biotic or abiotic component of an ecosystem that controls the size of a
population
Food Web – All feeding relationships in an ecosystem
Biosphere – All living things on Earth