Term | Definition |
photosynthesis | process that algae and plants use to produce food |
respiration | process that plants and other living organisms use to turn glucose or starches into energy |
glucose | a simple sugar that is an important energy source of all living organisms
* plants make sugar during photosynthesis
* organisms release glucose during during respiration and use it
for energy |
transpiration | evaporation of water from plants |
producer | algae and green plants that produce organic compounds(glucose) from inorganic compounds (carbon dioxide, water, sunlight)
*use sunlight to make their own food during photosynthesis |
consumer | an organism that obtains energy by eating other organisms
* herbivore - consumer that eats only plants
* carnivore - consumer that only eats other animals
* omnivore - eats both producers and other consumers |
decomposer | an organism that breaks down organic matter, like decaying animals or plants, and returns nutrients to the soil |
ecosystem | plants and animals in a specific location that interact to survive
* ecosystems contain living and non-living things (biotic &
abiotic) |
food chain | a series of organisms, each dependent on the next, for food & energy
* grass (captures sunlight) --- rabbit --- hawk |
food web | a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains |
dormancy | asleep, a state of inactivity or rest |
pollination | the transfer of pollen from the anthers of a flower to the stigma of the same flower or of another flower |
fertilization | when the male and female gamates(sex cells) join together to form an embryo. Occurs in the ovary. |
germination | the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and grow |