Ecosystem Vocabulary

Front

What is the term for all the populations living in an ecosystem at the same time?

Back

Community

Front

What is the largest number of individuals of one species that an ecosystem can support over time?

Back

Carrying capacity

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Front

What do we call an organism that uses an outside energy source, such as the Sun, and produces its own food?

Back

Producer

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Front

What is the term for the place within an ecosystem that provides the biotic and abiotic factors an organism needs to survive and reproduce?

Back

Habitat

Front

What is the role of a consumer in an ecosystem?

Back

An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Front

What is the difference between a herbivore and a carnivore?

Back

Herbivores eat plants, while carnivores eat other animals.

Front

What is an ecosystem?

Back

A community of living organisms and their interactions with their environment.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Front

What is the term for the variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem?

Back

Biodiversity

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-5

Front

What is a decomposer and what role does it play in an ecosystem?

Back

A decomposer breaks down dead organic material, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Front

What is the term for the maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely?

Back

Biotic potential.