1.

Food chains and food webs (section 4)

a. Food chain: A hierarchical series of organisms each dependent on the next as a source of
food.

b. Food wed: A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains.

Network of linked food chains.

c. Specialist: An organism that eats primarily one species.

d. Generalists: An organism that has varied diet.
e. Trophic levels: The levels of nourishment in a food chain.
f. Types of consumers:
1. Primary consumers: The first consumer above the producer in a food chain is called an
herbivore.
2. Secondary consumers: In a food chain, the consumer that eats an herbivore.
2. Cycling of matter (section 5)
a. Hydrologic cycle: Pathway of water from the atmosphere to Earth's surface, below ground,
and back.
b. Biogeochemical cycle: The circulation of substances through living organisms from or to the
environment.
c. Oxygen cycle: Cycle whereby natural processes and human activity consume atmospheric
oxygen and produce carbon dioxide and the Earth's forests and other flora, through
photosynthesis, consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen.
d. Carbon cycle: Moves carbon from the atmosphere, through the food web, and returns to
the atmosphere.
e. Nitrogen cycle: The process in which nitrogen is cycled between the atmosphere, bacteria,
and other organisms.
f. Nitrogen fixation: The process by which Gaseous Nitrogen is converted into ammonia, a
compound that organisms can use to make amino acids and other nitrogen-containing
organic molecules.
g. Phosphorus cycle: The movement of phosphorus from the environment to organisms and
then back to the environment.
3. Pyramid models (section 6)
a. Biomass: A measure of the total dry mass of organisms in a given area.
b. Energy pyramid: Diagram that compares energy used by producers, primary consumers, and
other trophic levels.
 c. Biomass pyramid: Compares the biomass in each trophic level of an ecosystem.
d. Pyramid of numbers: Shows the number of organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem.

The test will include exercises. Remember to review all the material in the notebook.