Year 7 Science Biology - Living Things and Ecosystems (Vocabulary)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on living things, habitats, energy flow, and ecosystems.

Organism

A living thing that carries out life processes.

Habitat

The environment or place where an organism lives.

Abiotic factor

A non-living component of an environment (e.g., water, light, temperature, wind, soil).

Biotic factor

A living component of an environment (e.g., predators, prey, mates, competitors).

Adaptation

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its habitat.

Reproduction

The biological process by which organisms produce offspring.

Movement

The ability of living things to move or respond to their environment.

Nutrition

How an organism obtains and uses food for energy and growth.

Growth

The increase in size and mass of an organism over time.

Response

An organism’s reaction to changes in its environment.

Exchange gases

The process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide (respiration).

Waste

Excretion; elimination of metabolic wastes from the body.

Water

A essential resource for life; involved in many bodily processes.

MR N GREWW

Mnemonic for eight key features of living things: Movement, Reproduction, Nutrition, Growth, Response, Exchange gases, Waste, Water.

Autotroph

An organism that makes its own food from inorganic sources; also called a producer.

Heterotroph

An organism that cannot make its own food and must consume others; also called a consumer.

Producer

Autotrophs that produce energy-rich compounds (e.g., plants, algae).

Consumer

Heterotrophs that obtain energy by eating other organisms.

Decomposer

Organisms that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients (e.g., bacteria, fungi, earthworms).

Herbivore

A consumer that eats only plants.

Carnivore

A consumer that eats only animals.

Omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals.

Predator

An organism that hunts, attacks, and eats another organism.

Prey

An organism that is hunted and eaten by a predator.

Photosynthesis

Process by which producers convert light energy, CO2, and water into glucose and oxygen.

Chlorophyll

Green pigment in plants that captures light energy for photosynthesis.

Glucose

Simple sugar; energy storage product of photosynthesis.

Oxygen

Gas produced by photosynthesis and essential for cellular respiration.

Sunlight

Primary energy source used by producers to drive photosynthesis.

Food chain

A linear sequence showing who eats whom to obtain energy.

Food web

A network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.

Symbiosis

Long-term close association between two different species.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is unaffected.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a system.

Apex predator

The top predator at the top of a food chain or food web.

Biomass

The total mass of all organisms at a given trophic level.

Pyramid of numbers

A diagram showing the number of individuals at each trophic level.

Pyramid of biomass

A diagram showing the total biomass at each trophic level.

Energy transfer

The flow of energy through a food chain, with only about 10% typically passed to the next trophic level.

Invasive species

A non-native species that spreads in a new environment and can disrupt ecosystems.

Habitat destruction

Human activities that damage or remove habitats, threatening organisms.

Organism

A living thing that carries out life processes.

Habitat

The environment or place where an organism lives.

Abiotic factor

A non-living component of an environment (e.g., water, light, temperature, wind, soil).

Biotic factor

A living component of an environment (e.g., predators, prey, mates, competitors).

Adaptation

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its habitat.

Reproduction

The biological process by which organisms produce offspring.

Movement

The ability of living things to move or respond to their environment.

Nutrition

How an organism obtains and uses food for energy and growth.

Growth

The increase in size and mass of an organism over time.

Response

An organism’s reaction to changes in its environment.

Exchange gases

The process of taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide (respiration).

Waste

Excretion; elimination of metabolic wastes from the body.

Water

A essential resource for life; involved in many bodily processes.

MR N GREWW

Mnemonic for eight key features of living things: Movement, Reproduction, Nutrition, Growth, Response, Exchange gases, Waste, Water.

Autotroph

An organism that makes its own food from inorganic sources; also called a producer.

Heterotroph

An organism that cannot make its own food and must consume others; also called a consumer.

Producer

Autotrophs that produce energy-rich compounds (e.g., plants, algae).

Consumer

Heterotrophs that obtain energy by eating other organisms.

Decomposer

Organisms that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients (e.g., bacteria, fungi, earthworms).

Herbivore

A consumer that eats only plants.

Carnivore

A consumer that eats only animals.

Omnivore

A consumer that eats both plants and animals.

Predator

An organism that hunts, attacks, and eats another organism.

Prey

An organism that is hunted and eaten by a predator.

Photosynthesis

Process by which producers convert light energy, CO2, and water into glucose and oxygen.

Chlorophyll

Green pigment in plants that captures light energy for photosynthesis.

Glucose

Simple sugar; energy storage product of photosynthesis.

Oxygen

Gas produced by photosynthesis and essential for cellular respiration.

Sunlight

Primary energy source used by producers to drive photosynthesis.

Food chain

A linear sequence showing who eats whom to obtain energy.

Food web

A network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem.

Symbiosis

Long-term close association between two different species.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit.

Commensalism

A symbiotic relationship in which one species benefits and the other is unaffected.

Parasitism

A symbiotic relationship where one species benefits at the expense of the other.

Ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their physical environment interacting as a system.

Apex predator

The top predator at the top of a food chain or food web.

Biomass

The total mass of all organisms at a given trophic level.

Pyramid of numbers

A diagram showing the number of individuals at each trophic level.

Pyramid of biomass

A diagram showing the total biomass at each trophic level.

Energy transfer

The flow of energy through a food chain, with only about 10% typically passed to the next trophic level.

Invasive species

A non-native species that spreads in a new environment and can disrupt ecosystems.

Habitat destruction

Human activities that damage or remove habitats, threatening organisms.

Biology

The scientific study of life and living organisms.