Chapter 2 Vocab

Water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers.

An organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles.

A compound that does not contain the element carbon or contains carbon bound to elements other than hydrogen.

An organism that is incapable of photosynthesis and must obtain its energy by consuming other organisms. Also known as heterotroph.

The total mass of all living matter in a specific area.

A physical law which states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can change from one form to another.

The energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire.

The sequence of consumption from producers through tertiary consumers.

The process by which cells convert glucose into energy in the absence of oxygen.

A property of water that results from the cohesion of water molecules at the surface of a body of water and that creates a sort of skin on the water’s surface.

The total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time.

A nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quantity than other nutrients.

A substance that contributes hydrogen ions to a solution.

The release of water from leaves during photosynthesis.

A massless packet of energy that carries electromagnetic radiation at the speed of light.

The process by which producers use solar energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.

The rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance.

A form of energy emitted by the Sun that includes, but is not limited to, visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared energy.

The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.

The physical law stating that when energy is transformed, the quantity of energy remains the same, but its ability to do work diminishes.

Randomness in a system.

A system in which exchanges of matter or energy occur across system boundaries.

A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring.

All land in a given landscape that drains into a particular stream, river, lake, or wetland.