Which term is the build-up of a substance in the body of a living thing?

Which term is the build-up of a substance in the body of a living thing?

• A. Artesian aquifer
• B. Biogas
• C. Bioaccumulation
• D. Biomagnification

Answer: (C)

The idea being tested is how a substance builds up inside the body of an individual living thing over time. This happens when a chemical is taken in faster than it can be eliminated, so it accumulates in tissues such as fat or organs. The term for this inside-one-organism accumulation is bioaccumulation. It explains why a plant or animal ends up with higher levels of a substance the longer it is exposed, even if the amount in the environment remains the same. Biomagnification is related but different: it describes how concentrations increase as you move up the food chain, from prey to predator. The other options don’t describe this internal buildup in a single organism—the artesian aquifer is underground groundwater, and biogas is methane produced by digestion processes, neither of which captions the concept of accumulation in an organism.

The idea being tested is how a substance builds up inside the body of an individual living thing over time. This happens when a chemical is taken in faster than it can be eliminated, so it accumulates in tissues such as fat or organs. The term for this inside-one-organism accumulation is bioaccumulation. It explains why a plant or animal ends up with higher levels of a substance the longer it is exposed, even if the amount in the environment remains the same.

Biomagnification is related but different: it describes how concentrations increase as you move up the food chain, from prey to predator. The other options don’t describe this internal buildup in a single organism—the artesian aquifer is underground groundwater, and biogas is methane produced by digestion processes, neither of which captions the concept of accumulation in an organism.