Key Terms and Concepts

astrobiologist

autotroph

banded iron formation

biogeochemical cycle

biosphere

Cambrian explosion

chemoautotroph

chemofossil

cyanobacteria

ecosystem

evolution

evolutionary radiation

extremophile

gene

geobiology

habitable zone

heterotroph

metabolism

microbial mat

microfossil

microorganism

natural selection

photosynthesis

red bed

respiration

stromatolite