| A | B |
|---|
| abiotic | the nonliving part of the environment |
| adaptation | a characteristic that improves an individual’s ability to survive & reproduce |
| aesthenosphere | the part of the earth just below the lithosphere |
| aquifer | a body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater & allows the flow of groundwater |
| community | all of the populations of species that live in the same habitat & interact with each other |
| competition | the simultaneous demand by 2 or more organisms for limited environmental resources |
| conservation | the preservation of natural resources or energy |
| controlled variable | what you will be keeping the same during an experiment |
| biodiversity | the existence of a wide variety of plant & animal species in their natural environments |
| deoxyribonucleic acid | a molecule in all living cells that contains the information that determines the traits a living thing inherits |
| extinction | the death of every member of a species |
| fact | a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true |
| food chain | transfer of energy through various stages as a result of feeding patterns of a series of organisms |
| frequency | the number of cycles or waves per unit time |
| geosphere | the mostly solid, rocky part of the Earth; extends from the center of the core to the surface of the crust |
| mitosis | a process of cell division where the nucleus divides into 2 nuclei with the same number of chromosomes |
| photosynthesis | a chemical process which traps light energy to convert carbon dioxide & water into carbohydrates (sugars) |
| plate tectonics | theory of global dynamics in which Earth’s crust is divided into a number of rigid plates that move |
| radioactive decay | an unstable nucleus gives off particles & energy |
| replication | the reproduction of a scientific investigation by another person t ensure accuracy. |
| single-celled organisms | an organism made up of only one cell |
| independent variable | The variable manipulated by the experimenter |
| trait | a genetically determined characteristic |
| watershed | the area of land that is drained by a river system |
| wavelength | the distance between crests of a wave |
| trough | bottom of a wave |
| crest | top of a wave |
