definitions

• the scientific method is a series of steps used in an investigation that strives to answer questions and explain the world around us
• a hypothesis is a possible explanation for an observation that can be tested
• data is the information gathered during a scientific investigation
• a scientific theory is a well established explanation that has been repeatedly tested and confirmed in many different ways and usually over long periods of time
• a scientific law or principle is a statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes what has been observed
• a control experiment is carried out as a comparison to the test experiment, as a standard against which the actual experiment is judged . It is identical to the test experiment but without the variable that is being tested
• the continuity of life means that living things arise from other living things
• metabolism refers to the sun of all chemical reactions that occur in the cells of an organism
• organisation refers to living things being made of cells, tissues, organs and organ systems
• nutrition is the intake and use of energy and materials from the environment
• excretion is the removal of waste products of metabolism from the body of an organism
• response is the ability of an organism to react to changes (stimuli) both inside and outside of their bodies
• reproduction is the ability of an organism to produce new individuals of its own kind to ensure a species survive
• biology is the study of living things
• a balanced diet is one which contains the right amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins, minerals and water
• biomolecules are chemicals made by an organism
• ecology is the study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environment
• a habitat is the place where an organism lives
• an ecosystem comprises the interacting living and non-living components of a particular area
• the biosphere is the part of the earth inhabited by living organisms
• all of the organism of the same species in the same habitat or area are called a population
• a community contains all of the different populations living in the same habitat or area
• abiotic factors are external influences by non-living components
• biotic factors are external influences by living things
• edaphic factors are soil features that influence the growth of plants or animals
• climatic factors are influences of prevailing weather conditions on living organisms in the ecosystem
• aquatic factors are items of environmental information relating to aquatic habitats
• a producer is an organism that makes its own food, also called an autotroph
• a consumer is an organism that can’t make its own food, also called a heterotroph
• a food chain is a series of organisms in which one organism is eaten by the next
• the trophic level of an organism is its position in the food chain
• a food web is a series of interconnecting food chains
• a pyramid of numbers is a chart showing the number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain
• a food niche is what an organism eats and what its eaten by in a food chain
• the ecological niche of an organism is its functional role in the community
• competition is the struggle between organisms for limited resources. competition can take place within the same species or between different species
• intraspecific competition is the struggle for limited resources between organisms of the same species
• interspecific competition is the struggle for limited resources between members of different species
• scramble competition is the struggle for limited resources whereby each organism gets some of the resource
• contest competition there is direct conflict for limited resources between two individuals whereby only one is successful in gaining f the resource