Vocabulary
- Biotic: Related to living organism (especially in an ecosystem)
- Abiotic: Physical factors in the environment (Light, water, temperature)
- Living: Alive, according to the Seven Essential characteristics of life
- Non-Living: anything that is not now, or ever will be, alive
- Seven Essential Characteristics: Listed on the Week 1 page
- Producer: an organism that must create its own energy, often through photosynthesis
- Consumer: an organism that must eat in order to obtain energy
- Decomposer: organisms that break down decaying matter (dead plants and animals)
- Glucose: Sugar produced by a plant during photosynthesis, the plants "food"
- Photosynthesis: A process in which light energy, carbon dioxide, water, and minerals are used to produced oxygen and glucose by a plant
- Carnivore: Animals that eat primarily meat
- Herbivore: Animals that only eat plants
- Omnivore: Animals that have the ability to eat both plants and animals
- Taxonomy: Science concerned with classifying organisms
- Taxonomists: Scientists that group organisms into groups for classification
- Scientific Name: Latin or Greek two part name, given to organisms so that scientists can accurately identify them
- Misnomer: An inaccurate name. (such as jellyfish----which is not really a fish)