LIFE SCIENCE VOCABULARY
Life Science
Lesson 1: Photosynthesis
Essential Vocabulary
1.
organisms: living things
2.
chlorophyll: a green substance in plant leaves that captures
energy from the sun
3.
carbon dioxide: a gas in the atmosphere that plants use during
the process of photosynthesis
4.
stomata: tiny holes in the leaves of a plant that allow gases to
enter or leave the plant
5.
photosynthesis: the process in which plants use energy from the
sun to make their own food
6.
producer: an organism that makes its own food
Lesson 2: Inherited Traits and Adaptive Characteristics
7.
8.
9.
10.
traits: characteristics of an organism
inherited traits: characteristics passed down from parents to
offspring
offspring: children
adapt: change
11.
perish: die
12.
adaptation: a change an organism undergoes in order to survive
13.
reproduce: to make offspring
14.
instinctive behaviors: behaviors that are inherited
15.
learned behaviors: behaviors that are learned
Lesson 3: Habitats, Ecosystems, and Biomes
16.
habitat: the specific environment where an organism lives
17.
species: a group of organisms that produce offspring like
themselves
18.
population: all the organisms of the same species that live in the
same area at the same time
19.
community: populations of different species that live in the same
area at the same time
20.
ecosystem: all the populations of organisms and the nonliving
things in an environment, and the interaction among them
21.
biome: one of the six major land areas of the world that is
home to specific plant and animal populations and is defined by its
climate
Lesson 4: Life Cycles
22.
life cycle: the stages of development of an organism as it
grows into an adult
23.
reproduce: to make more of the same kind of organism as the
adult
24.
thrive: to grow in a strong and healthy way
25.
pollution: anything in the environment that can harm living
organisms or damage the natural resources there
Lesson 5: Unique Niche, Food Chains, and Food Webs
26.
unique niche: an organism’s role in an ecosystem based on how it
gets its food
27.
consumers: animals that eat other organisms
28.
herbivores: animals that eat only plants
29.
carnivores: animals that eat only other animals
30.
omnivores: animals that eat both plants and animals
31.
predators: animals that hunt other animals for food
32.
prey: animals that are hunted by predators
33.
decomposers: organisms that feed on dead plants and animals,
as well as animal wastes
34.
food chain: the path of energy from the sun to a plant to an
animal to another animal
35.
food web: a group of overlapping food chains