APES Vocab Quiz 2

Hydrologic Cycle

Continuous movement of water through Earth, including evaporation, precipitation, runoff, and infiltration.

Mutualism

Relationship where both organisms benefit (+/+).

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

Energy/biomass left for consumers after producers use energy for respiration. NPP = GPP − respiration.

Photosynthesis

Process where producers use sunlight to make glucose from CO₂ and water.

Cellular Respiration

Process cells use to break down glucose and release usable energy.

Nitrification

Bacteria convert ammonia/ammonium → nitrites → nitrates.

Nitrogen Fixation

Converts atmospheric N₂ into ammonia/ammonium that can eventually be used by plants.

Assimilation

Plants absorb nitrogen compounds such as nitrates from the soil and incorporate the nitrogen into their tissues.

Ammonification

Decomposers convert nitrogen in dead organisms and waste into ammonia/ammonium.

Denitrification

Bacteria convert nitrates back into N₂ gas, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere.

Parasitism

Relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed (+/−).

Primary Succession

Ecosystem development starting where no soil exists, such as bare rock.

Secondary Succession

Ecosystem recovery after a disturbance where soil remains.

Sink

A reservoir that absorbs and stores more of a substance than it releases, such as a carbon sink.

First Law of Thermodynamics

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.