Term | Definition |
Condensation | The process of a gas turning into a liquid |
Evaporation | The process of a liquid turning into a gas |
Abiotic Factor | Features of the environment that are not and have never been alive (nonliving part of environment) |
Biotic Factor | Features of the environment that are alive or were alive (living part of environment) |
Soil | A mixture of mineral and rock particles, the remains of dead organisms, air, and water that form the top layer of surface of the Earth |
Biosphere | The parts of the Earth that support life (atmosphere + hydrosphere + lithosphere) |
Atmosphere | The air surrounding the Earth |
Energy | The capacity/ability to do work |
Environment | All the living and the non-living that surround and affect an organism |
Nitrogen Fixation | The process in which some types of bacteria in the soil change nitrogen gas into a form of nitrogen that can be used by plants |
Nitrogen Cycle | a model describing how nitrogen moves from The atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atomsphere |
Carbon Cycle | A model describing how carbon molecules move between the living and the non-living world |
Water Cycle | A model describing how water moves back and forth between the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth(evaporation/transpiration, condensation, precipitation, run-off/ground water) |
Climate | The average weather conditions of an area over time |
Food Web | A model that shows how energy is passed between organisms in an ecoysystem |
Energy Pyramid | A model that shows the amount of energy available at each feeding level in an ecosystem |
Chemosynthesis | The process used by some bacteria to make energy-rich molecules from chemicals (think vent communities) |