Unit 1 Vocabulary Part 1

PCBs

hazardous manmade molecule banned from manufacturing

quantitative datea

data in the form of numbers

qualitative data

data in the form of qualities or characteristics

experimental design

the process of carrying out research in an objective and controlled fashion so that precision is maximized

control

an element that remains unchanged or unaffected by other variables

easter island

an island off of chile known for its statues

ecology

Study of how organisms react with each other and the non-living environment

biotic factor

living parts of an environment

abiotic factor

nonliving parts of an environment

ecological hierarchy

Individuals make up a population; populations make up a species; multiple species and their interactions make up a community; and multiple species and their interactions make up ecosystems

population

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

community

All the different populations that live together in an area

ecosystem

a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment

biosphere

the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth where living organisms exist

natural selection

the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring

salinity

A measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid

brackish

salinity level between freshwater and seawater

potential energy

stored energy

kinetic energy

energy in motion

1st law of thermodynamics

matter cannot be created or lost

2nd law of thermodynamics

when energy is transferred, some of it becomes unusable

entropy

the amount of unusable energy after energy is transferred

ecological footprint

the impact of a person on the environment

phototrophs

another name for producer

chemotrophs

organisms that obtain energy by the oxidation of reduced compounds

heterotrophs

an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances - consumer

primary consumer

2nd level - eats producer

secondary consumer

3rd level - eats primary consumer

tertiary consumer

4th level - eats secondary consumer

saprotrophs

feeds on decaying matter - decomposer