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Vocabulary 1 - 3

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Question
Answer
Mass Extinction   when large numbers of entire species become extinct at nearly the same time  
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Evolution   change over time of species of organisms, or Earth  
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Natural Selection   process where members of the species that are best suited to their environment survive and reproduce at a higher rate  
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Adaptation   trait that gives an organism an advantage in its environment and increases its chance or survival  
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Speciation   evolution of a new species from an existing species  
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Ancestor   distant or early form of an organism form which later organisms descend  
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Vestigial Organ   physical structure that was fully developed and functional in an earlier group but is reduced and unused in later species  
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Homologous Structure   physical structure that is similar and used for a similar purpose in different species  
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Mutation   random change to a gene that results in a new trait  
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Population Dynamics   study changes in the number of individuals in a population and the factors that effect those changes  
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Carrying Capacity   maximum size that a population can reach in an ecosystem  
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Population Density   measure of the number of organisms in a given area  
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Immigration   movement of an organism into a range inhabited by the same species  
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Emigration   movement of individuals out of an ecosystem  
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Limiting Factor   factor or condition that prevents the continuing growth of a population in an ecosystem  
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Opportunist   species characterized by a relatively short life span and large quantities of offspring  
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Competitor   species characterized by a relatively long life span with few offspring  
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Fossil   an object that is a trace or remain of living things from the past  
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Original Remains   fossils that are actual bodies or body parts of an organism (ex.Bones)  
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Ice Core   a sample of Earth that is taken in a tube and shows the layers that have built up over thousands of years  
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Relative Age (Dating)   the age of an even or object in relation to other events or objects (younger or older)  
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Absolute Age (Dating)   the actual age in years of an object or event  
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Index Fossil   fossils or organisms that were common, lived in many areas, and existed only during a certain time span  
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Half-Life   the length of time it takes for half of the atoms of a radioactive element to change to another form  
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Uniformitarianism   the theory that Earth is an always changing place and that the same forces of change from the past are at work today  
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Geological Time Scale   the scale that divides Earth's history into intervals that are defined by major events or changes on Earth  
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Lithosphere   the layer of Earth made up of crust and the rigid part of the upper mantle  
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Asthenosphere   layer in Earth's upper mantle that is soft because it is close to melting  
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Tectonic Plate   one of the large moving pieces of Earth's lithosphere (oceanic/continental)  
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Continental Drift   hypothesis that Earth's continents move on Earth's surface  
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Pangaea   hypothetical super continent that included all the land masses of Earth, broke apart 2009 million years ago  
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Theory or Plate Tectonics   theory stating that Earth's lithosphere is broken into huge plates that move and change in size over time  
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Rift Valley   deep valley formed as tectonic plates move apart, such as along a mid-ocean ridge  
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Magnetic Reversal   switch in the direction of the Earth's magnetic field so that magnetic North and South switch  
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Hot Spot   area where a column of hot material rises from deep within the mantle and heats the lithosphere, causing volcanic activity  
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Subduction   when oceanic plate sinks under another plate in Earth;s mantle  
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Habitat   environment that contains most of the necessary requirements for an organism to live  
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Intertidal Zone   the narrow ocean margin between the high tide and the low tide mark  
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Estuaries   where fresh water from rivers mixes with slat water from the ocean  
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Wetland   wet, swampy areas that are often flooded with water (ex. Salt Marshes and Mangrove Forests)  
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Coral Reef   built up limestone deposits formed by large colonies of organisms called coral  
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Kelp Forest   large communities of a seaweed called kelp that attaches to the ocean floor and can grow up to 40 m, in cold water  
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Phytoplankton   microscopic floating organisms that lie at or near the sunlit surface and are able to photosynthesis  
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Hydrothermal Vents   hot water that rises up from cracks in the ocean floor (has lots of chemicals an chemosynthetic bacteria)  
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Overfishing   catching fish at a faster rate than they can reproduce  
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By-Catch   potion of animals that are caught in a net then thrown away  
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Salinity   the amount of dissolved salt in a substance  
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Density   mass divided by volume  
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Continental Shelf   the slope of land that lies under the water at the edge of a continent  
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Sonar   use of sound waves to measure distance and to locate objects  
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Current   mass or moving water  
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Upwelling   movement of deep nutrient water up to the surface  
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El Nino   global weather event caused by changes in air and water movement  
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Longshore Current   movement of water parallel to the shore  
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Rip Current   strong movement of water that breaks through sandbars and moves out to sea  
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Tide   rise and fall of the water level of the ocean due to the moon's gravitational pull  
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Tidal Range   difference between high tide and the next low tide  
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Spring Tide   extreme high and low tide (large tidal bulge)  
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Neap Tide   less extreme high and low tide (small tidal bulge)  
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Irrigation   way that humans apply water to crops  
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Aquaculture   science and process of raising and harvesting fish for food  
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Dam   structure that blocks and controls the flow of water in a river or lake  
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Lock   area of waterway closed off by gates, where water level is raised and lowered to let ships pass  
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Concentration   the amount of substance in another substance  
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Sewage System   system used by cities and towns to collect and treat waste water  
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Septic System   small system used by home or business to treat waste water (usually in remote/country areas)  
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Point-Source Pollution   pollution that enters water from a known source  
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Nonpoint-Source Pollution   pollution that enters water from a source that is hard to find or is scattered  
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Drought   long period of time with little to no rainfall  
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Desalination   process used to remove salt from ocean water  
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Fresh Water   water you can drink, not salty  
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Salt Water   water that has salt and minerals  
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Water Cycle   continuous flow of water from the air to the ground and back  
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Evaporation   water turning to water vapor (gas)  
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Condensation   process of water turning from vapor to liquid  
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Precipitation   water falling from clouds  
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Divide   ridge from which water flows on either side  
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Drainage Basin   area at the bottom of a divide where water flows  
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Turnover   continuous rising and sinking of water in a lake  
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Eutrophication   the increase of nutrients in a lake or pond  
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Iceberg   large mass of frozen water in the ocean  
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Groundwater   water held in the ground  
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Permeable   layer of rock/soil that water CAN flow through  
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Impermeable   layer of rock that water CAN'T flow through  
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Water Table   the highest part of the ground that is completely filled with water  
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Aquifer   underground permeable layer of rock that holds water  
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Spring   water that flows from the ground where the surface of land dips below the water table  
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Artesian Well   well where water flows upward because of pressure  
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Transpiration   water given off by plants  
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Infiltration   water that makes its way into the ground  
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Runoff   water draining from mountains into rivers, lakes, and streams  
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Microorganism   small organism that can only be seen with a microscope  
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Kingdom   6 large groupings of living organisms that have similar characteristics  
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Algae   protists that live mostly in water and do photosynthesis  
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Plankton   microscope organisms that drift in large numbers through water  
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Protozoa   animal-like protists that are decomposers  
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Virus   non-living, disease causing particles that uses living cells to reproduce  
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Bacteria   group of one-celled organisms that sometimes cause disease  
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Archaea   single-celled organisms without nuclei that can survive in extreme enviroments  
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Decomposer   organism that feeds on or breaks down dead plant and animal matter  
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Parasite   organism that uses another organism for its nutrients, it often harms the host organism in the process  
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Host Cell   cell that a virus infects and uses to make copies of itself  
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Carbohydrate   sugar molecule used for energy  
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Lipid   organic compound that makes up fats and oils in living things  
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Protein   org. compound made of amino acids, that does the work in a cell  
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Nucleic Acid   molecules that carry the instructions for the cell (RNA and DNA)  
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Glucose   sugar made form carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen  
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Photosynthesis   process plant cells use to make glucose  
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Chlorophyll   pigment  
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