environmental vocab

6. An organism that cannot produce its own food and relies on consuming other organisms for energy.
10. Energy or material that leaves a system.
15. originateuman activity, especially regarding environmental pollution and pollutants.
16. Crop** The amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time.
17. Feedback Loop** A process in which a change in a system causes a response that tends to return the system to its original state.
19. System A system in which energy and matter can be exchanged with its surroundings.
20. Consumer** An organism that eats primary consumers (herbivores).
23. Consumer** An organism that feeds on secondary consumers in the food chain.
25. An organism that feeds on detritus or organic waste.
27. Feedback Loop** A process in which a change in a system causes a response that amplifies the initial change.
28. The total mass of organisms in a given area or volume.
29. System** A system in which only energy, not matter, can be exchanged with its surroundings.
30. An organism, typically a plant or algae, that can make its own food through photosynthesis.

1. Energy or material that enters a system.
2. The global sum of all ecosystems; the zone of life on Earth.
3. Pyramid** A graphical representation showing the distribution of biomass, numbers, or energy among the trophic levels.
4. An organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.
5. The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.
7. Footprint** A measure of human impact on the environment, expressed as the area of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.
8. Gases** Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor that trap heat in the atmosphere.
9. Organisms, like fungi or bacteria, that break down dead organic matter into simpler substances.
11. Consumer** An organism that eats producers (plants).
12. An organism that produces its own food from inorganic substances, like plants using sunlight.
13. Chain** A linear sequence of organisms in which each is eaten by the next one in the chain.
14. An animal that consumes dead animals that it has not killed itself.
18. Efficiency** The efficiency with which energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.
21. An organism that feeds on other animals.
22. Web** A complex network of feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem.
24. An organism that feeds on plants.
26. Levels** The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising producers at the bottom and top consumers at the top.