DNA and replication worksheet answers 1 .doc - Name Date Period ... - Free Printable

1. The study of the relationships between organisms and their environment is called ecology.
2. In an ecosystem, abiotic factors include sunlight, temperature, water, and soil.
3. A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area.
4. The term for the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustain is carrying capacity.
5. A food chain shows the flow of energy from one organism to another in a linear sequence.
6. The process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water is photosynthesis.
7. Decomposers break down dead organic matter and recycle nutrients back into the ecosystem.
8. The layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface is the troposphere.
9. The greenhouse effect is the trapping of heat in the atmosphere by gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.
10. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life at all levels of biological organization.
11. A keystone species has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.
12. The water cycle describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth.
13. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted into ammonia by bacteria.
14. An invasive species is a non-native organism that causes harm to the environment, economy, or human health.
15. The primary source of energy for most ecosystems is the sun.
16. A biome is a large geographical area with distinct climate, flora, and fauna.
17. Symbiosis is a close, long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms.
18. The ozone layer absorbs most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
19. Eutrophication is the enrichment of water by nutrients, often leading to excessive plant growth and oxygen depletion.
20. The hypothesis that life originated in the primordial soup is known as the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis.