IB Environmental systems and societies 2.1A Organisms Key Definitions

The biosphere is the global ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions with the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

Classification is the systematic arrangement of organisms into groups based on shared characteristics.

A community is a collection of interacting populations of different species living in the same area and at the same time.

The Dichotomous Key is a step-by-step decision-making tool that helps classify an organism based on observable characteristics.

Ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life

Identification in taxonomy means determining the species of an individual organism using various tools and methods.

An individual is a single organism, such as a lion, a pine tree, or a bacterium.

A population is a group of individuals of the same species in an area.

A species is a group of organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring under natural conditions.