Population Growth and Carrying Capacity

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, mechanisms, and concepts of population growth, limiting factors, and carrying capacity from Science 10.

Population Growth

The increase in the number of individuals in a population over time.

Births

A factor affecting population growth in which new individuals are born into the population.

Deaths

A factor affecting population growth in which individuals die.

Immigration

The movement of organisms into a population.

Emigration

The movement of organisms out of a population.

Competition

An interaction that occurs when too many individuals live in the same area and begin to compete for the same resources, such as food, water, shelter, and mates.

Limiting Factor

Anything that slows down or controls population growth, such as a lack of food, lack of water, limited shelter, limited space, or mates.

Carrying Capacity ($K$)

The maximum number of organisms that an environment can support with the available resources.

Population Growth Graph

A graph that shows how the size of a population changes over time, plotted with time on the X-axis (horizontal) and population size on the Y-axis (vertical).

Balanced Ecosystem

A condition where living things and their environment work together in a stable way through the interaction of producers, consumers, decomposers, and natural resources.