| A | B |
|---|
| abiotic factors | The nonliving things in an environment |
| biosphere | The zone in which living things are found on the earth |
| biotic factors | The living things in an environment |
| carnivore | A consumer that eats other animals |
| commensalism | A kind of symbiosis in which one organism is helped and the other is neither helped nor harmed |
| community | All the organisms living together in an area |
| consumer | An organism that eats other organisms |
| decomposer | An organism that breaks down the remains of dead plants and animals into simpler substances |
| ecology | The study of the interactions between living things and their environment |
| ecosystem | An area in which living things and nonliving things interact, exchanging energy and materials |
| environment | Includes all of the things, both living and nonliving, that surround an organism |
| food web | A complex overlapping of food chains in an ecosystem |
| habitat | The specific place in which an organism lives |
| herbivore | A consumer that is a plant eater |
| mutualism | A kind of symbiosis in which both organisms benefit |
| omnivore | A consumer that eats both plants and animals |
| parasitism | A symbiotic relationship in which one organism is helped and the other is harmed |
| population | A group of organisms belonging to one species living in a given area |
| producer | An organism that makes its own food |
| scavenger | An organism that feeds on dead or dying organisms |
| symbiosis | A close, long-term relationship between two organisms |
| ecologist | a person who studies the interaction between living things and the environment |
| organism | A complete, individual living thing |
| niche | the role an organism plays in an ecosystem |
| food chain | The transfer of energy in the form of food from one organism to another |
| energy pyramid | A drawing that shows the food chain |
| water cycle | Movement of water through an ecosystem |
| cycle | Circular movement |
| carbon dioxide/oxygen cycle | The movement of CO2 & Oxygen through an ecosystem |
| nitrogen cycle | The movement of nitrogen through an ecosystem |
| evaporation | The process of water changing from liquid to a gas |
| condensation | The process of water changing from gas to liquid |
| precipitation | The process of water falling to earth as rain, snow, hail, or sleet. |
| respiration | The process by which living things get energy from food |
