APES Modules 6 and 7 Vocab Quiz

Anaerobic Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen

Biomass

Biological material that has mass

Cellular respiration

The process by which cells unlock the energy of chemical compounds

Gross primary productivity (GPP)

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants and algae use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen

Primary productivity

The rate of converting solar energy into organic compounds over a period of time

Producer/Autotroph

Plants, Algae, and some bacteria that use the Sun’s energy to produce usable forms of energy such as sugars.

Net primary productivity (NPP)

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

Standing crop

The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time

Carnivore

A consumer that eats other consumers

Consumer

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must therefore obtain its energy by consuming other organisms

Decomposers

Fungi and bacteria that complete the breakdown process by converting organic matter into small elements and molecules that can be recycled back into the ecosystem

Detritivore

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

Ecological efficiency

The proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one tropic level to another

Food Chain

The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers

Food web

A model of how energy and matter move through two or more interconnected food chains

Herbivore/Primary Consumer

A consumer that eats producers

Scavenger

An organism that consumes dead animals

Secondary Consumer

A carnivore that eats primary consumers

Tertiary consumer

A carnivore that eats secondary consumers

Trophic levels

The successive levels of organisms consuming one another