Set 2: English practice

Producers

Autotrophs use energy from the sun (photosynthesis) or energy stored in energy compounds (chemosynthesis) to make their own nutrients or food

Consumers

Heterotrophs cannot make their own food and must feed on other organisms

Food chain

A sequence that links species together by their feeding relationships and shows how energy moves through an ecosystem

Autotrophs

Producers, plants

Primary consumers

First order heterotrophs; herbivores

Secondary consumers

Second order heterotrophs; omnivores, carnivores

Tertiary consumers

Third order heterotrophs; carnivores eat second order heterotrophs

Decomposer

Breaks down dead and decaying material into nutrients for soil

Scavenger

Consume energy from dead animals

Food web

Express all possible feeding relationships at each tropic level in a community

Ecological pyramids

Show how energy flows through an ecosystem

Pyramid of energy

Energy decreases at each succeeding tropic level; Total energy transfer from one tropic level to the next is 10%

Pyramid of numbers

Shows the population size at each trophic level

Pyramid of biomass

Expresses the weight of living material at each trophic level (g/m^2)

Community

An interacting group or various species in a common location

Tolerance range

Tolerate (or survive within) a certain range of particular factor but cannot survive if there is too much or too little of the factor

Lithosphere

the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

biosphere

part of earth in which life exists

Hydrosphere

All the water at and near the surface of the earth, 97% of which is in oceans

atmosphere

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.

Population

A group of individuals that belong to the same species and live in the same area

carrying capacity

The largest population that an area can support

Mutualism

A relationship between two species in which both species benefit

commensalism

A relationship between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is unaffected

Parasitism

A relationship between two organisms of different species where one benefits and the other is harmed

Predation

An interaction in which one organism kills another for food.

trophic level

step in a food chain or food web

ecological niche

A specific role of a species within an ecosystem, including its use of resources, and relationships with other species.

Photosynthesis

Conversion of light energy from the sun into chemical energy.

cellular respiration

Process that releases energy by breaking down glucose and other food molecules in the presence of oxygen

products of photosynthesis (words)

glucose and oxygen

reactants of cellular respiration (formula)

6O2 + C6H12O6

products of cellular respiration (words)

carbon dioxide and water and ATP

reactants of photosynthesis (formula)

6H20 + 6CO2 + sunlight

Bioremediation

The use of living organisms to detoxify and restore polluted and degraded ecosystems

nitrogen cycle

The transfer of nitrogen from the atmosphere to the soil, to living organisms, and back to the atmosphere

carbon cycle

the movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back

reservoir

stores, large supply of something

Abiotic

Non-living

Biotic

living

Biomass

total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level

Ecosystem

A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

habitat

Place where an organism lives

Global warming

The increase in the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere

conserve

to save or use carefully

pollutants

substances that cause pollution

industrialised

to make industrial or commercial

greenhouse gases

gases that cause greenhouse effect

emitted

to give or send out

industries

commercial production and sale of goods

atmosphere

gas surrounding Earth

trap

to stop something from leaving

carbon footprint

total amount of greenhouse gases by a person or organisation over a time

endangered

used to describe animals that are almost extinct

inconsiderate

thoughtlessly causing hurt or inconvenience to others

Extinction

becoming extinct or completely destroyed

authorities

people or groups of people who have the power to create, enforce laws

impose

to make something compulsory

penalties

punishment due to breaking rules

poaching

illegal hunting

illegal

against the law

Pathogens

organisms that cause disease

Greenhouse effect

Natural situation in which heat is trapped in the Earth's atmosphere

Greenhouse gas

Gases in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.

Gases that absorb heat.

(Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour, other gas)

Climate change

Any significant change in measures of climate (such as temperature, precipitation, or wind, lasting for an extended period of a decade or longer.)

Deforestation

Destruction of forests to create plantations for growing crops like palm oil, for farming or for the timber industry

Methane

Greenhouse gas produced by animals raised for agriculture

Biodiversity

The number of different species in an ecosystem

Biodegradable

Capable of being broken down by bacteria and other decomposers.

Acid rain

Rain that contains more acid than usual.

(Contains Sulphuric acid and Nitric acid)

Ocean acidification

Carbon dioxide dissolving in seawater and lowers ocean pH

Coral bleaching

The loss of colour in corals that occurs when stressed corals expel the algae that live in them

Microplastics

Tiny pieces of plastic debris in the environment.

white collar

a description characterizing lower-level professional and management workers and some highly skilled laborers in technical jobs

blue collar

a description characterizing skilled and semi-skilled workers who perform manual labor or work in service or clerical jobs

deindustrialization of nations

process by which companies move industrial jobs to other regions with cheaper labor, leaving the newly deindustrialized region to switch to a service economy and to work through a period of high unemployment

leverage

the use of borrowed money to supplement existing funds for purposes of investment, something which gives help or advantage

blue collar jobs

jobs that require physical labor in industry

white collar jobs

jobs that do not involve manual labor although they require less education and provide a lower income than do the jobs held by the upper-middle class (nurses, small-business owners, salesmen)

to hold the reins on sth.

To have or be in control, especially of a group, project, or situation.

to alleviate

to relieve, make more bearable

reciprocal

given, felt, or done in return

apprehension

anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen, arrest

amplify

(v.) to make stronger, larger, greater, louder, or the like

Global warming

Erderwärmung

Climate change

Klimawandel

scientist

Wissenschaftler

Pole

Pol

To melt

Schmelzen

Flood

Flut

Catastrophic

Verhängnisvoll

greenhouse

Teibhaus

Carbon dioxide

Kohlendioxid

Drought

Dürre

Polluter

Umweltverschmutzer

To emit

Ausstoßen

To burn sth

Etwas verbrennen

Fossil

Fossil

Coal

Kohle

Fuel

Kraftstoff