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Unit 14 24-25
Matter and Energy in Ecosystems
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 10% Rule | Only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is passed to the next; the rest is used for life processes or lost as heat. |
| Producer (Autotroph) | An organism that makes its own food using sunlight or chemical energy, usually through photosynthesis (e.g., plants, algae). |
| Biosphere | The part of Earth where life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere. |
| Energy pyramid | A diagram that shows how energy decreases at each trophic level in a food chain or food web. |
| Consumer (Heterotroph) | An organism that gets its energy by eating other organisms. |
| Nutrients | A chemical substance that organisms need to live, grow, and reproduce, such as nitrogen or phosphorus. |
| Primary consumer | organisms that eat only plants |
| Secondary consumer | organisms that eat primary consumers |
| Tertiary consumers | organisms that eat secondary consumers |
| Trophic levels | A level in a food chain or energy pyramid that shows an organism’s position in the flow of energy (e.g., producers, primary consumers, etc.). |
| Carnivores | A consumer that eats only other animals. |
| Decomposers | An organism that breaks down dead material, returning nutrients to the soil (e.g., bacteria, fungi). |
| Detritivores | an organism that eats dead or decaying plants or animals as food. |
| Nitrogen Cycle | The process of nitrogen moving through the atmosphere, soil, plants, animals, and bacteria. |
| Carbon Cycle | The movement of carbon through the environment, including in the air, plants, animals, and fossil fuels. |
| Ecosystem | A community of living organisms (biotic) and their physical environment (abiotic) interacting together. |
| Matter | Anything that has mass and takes up space; includes nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and water that cycle through ecosystems. |
| energy | The ability to do work or cause change; in ecosystems, energy flows from the sun through organisms in food chains. |
| Herbivore | A consumer that eats only plants. |
| Omnivore | A consumer that eats both plants and animals. |
| Scavenger | An organism that consumes dead animals but doesn’t fully decompose them (e.g., vultures). |
| Food Chain | A sequence that shows how energy is transferred from one organism to another in an ecosystem. |
| Food Web | A complex network of interconnected food chains showing how energy flows in an ecosystem. |
| Photosynthesis | The process by which plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make food and release oxygen. |
| Respiration | The process by which organisms break down food to release energy. |
| Water Cycle | The movement of water through the environment, including processes like evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and collection. |
| Recycle | To reuse or break down matter so it can be used again in nature. |
| Sustainability | The ability of an ecosystem to remain healthy and balanced over time by recycling matter and maintaining energy flow. |
| Equilibrium | A stable, balanced state in an ecosystem where populations and resources are maintained over time. |
Created by:
LMS 7 Sci
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