Matter and Energy in Ecosystems Vocab

Front

a series of chemical reactions that convert light energy, water, and carbon dioxide into the food-energy molecule glucose and give off oxygen.

Back

photosynthesis

Front

an organism that uses an outside energy source, such as the Sun, and produces its own food.

Back

producer

Front

all the living things and nonliving things in a given area.

Back

ecosystem

Front

a process by which glucose, a sugar, is broken down into smaller molecules.

Back

glycolysis

Front

a model of energy transfer that can show how the food chains in a community are interconnected.

Back

food web

Front

an organism that cannot make its own food and gets energy by eating other organisms.

Back

consumer

Front

an organism that consumes the bodies of dead organisms and wastes produced by living organisms.

Back

detritivore

Front

a model that shows how energy flows in an ecosystem through feeding relationships.

Back

food chain

Front

a model that shows the amount of energy available in each link of a food chain.

Back

energy pyramid

Front

the process of a liquid changing to a gas at the surface of the liquid.

Back

evaporation