ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FINAL

A producer is an organism that can make its own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, such as green plants.

The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon is exchanged among the atmosphere, land, water, and living organisms, involving processes like photosynthesis and respiration.

Exponential growth is a pattern of growth where the quantity increases at a constant rate per time period, leading to a rapid increase over time.

Bacteria convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into a usable form for plants and animals through a process called nitrogen fixation.

Pioneer species are the first organisms to colonize previously disrupted or damaged ecosystems, such as mosses and lichens in primary succession.

The water cycle is the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth, involving processes like evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Logistic growth is a model of population growth that shows how a population grows rapidly at first and then slows as it reaches carrying capacity.

Fungi decompose organic matter, recycling nutrients back into the soil, and can also form symbiotic relationships with plants.

Primary succession is the process of ecological change that occurs in an area where no soil exists, starting with pioneer species.

A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.