Question | Answer |
Ecosystem | an ecosystem is the interaction between the biotic (living or once living) factors and abiotic (non-living) factors. |
Biotic factors | are the parts of an ecosystem that are living or were once living. |
Abiotic factors | are the parts of an ecosystem that are non-living. |
Four main abiotic factors are | sun, water, air, soil |
the Sun provides... | warmth to animals, provides solar energy to allow green plants to make food, provides daylight which triggers activity in many animals, and changing seasons signals changes in plants and animals such as flowers blooming or birds migrating. |
Water provides... | all living things need water to live (plants and animals). Water transports nutrients to other areas, and some organisms live in water. |
Air provides... | oxygen for animals to breathe and carbon dioxide for plants. |
Soil provides... | nutrients for plants, plants grow in the soil, and some organisms live in the soil. |
Organisms | an organism is any living thing-plant or animal. |
Species | a species is a group of very similar organisms that can reproduce. |
Population | a population is a group of organisms of the same species (one species) living together in one place at one time. |
Community | a community is all the populations of all the living things in an area (more than one species). |
Habitat | a habitat is the home or location where an organism lives. In a habitat an organism must find; food, water, shelter, space. |
Niche | a niche is an organism’s role (job) in the ecosystem. It includes what it eats, where it lives, and what it does. Can two species occupy the same niche? Why? |
Producers | are organisms that can make their own food using air, sunlight and water. |
Green plants and algae are... | producers |
Producers capture the sun’s energy and turn it into food (glucose) using... | photosynthesis. |
Photosynthesis | is the process by which green plants make their own food using the sun’s energy, water and carbon dioxide. |
Most of the sun's energy is captured by plants in its... | leaves |
Photosynthesis occurs in the... | chloroplasts. |
Plants absorb light primarily using the grren pigment called... | chlorophyll |
CO₂ + H₂O + SUNLIGHT → | O₂ + C₆H₁₂O₆ |
Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight → | Oxygen + Glucose (sugar) |
Consumers | are organisms that must eat other organisms (plants or animals) for their food. Consumers cannot make their own food. Consumers come in all shapes and sizes and all eat very different things. |
What are 4 types of consumers? | herbivores,carnivores, omnivores and scavengers |
Herbivores | are plant-eating consumers. |
Carnivores | are meat-eating consumers. |
Omnivores | are consumers that eat both plants and animals. |
Scavengers | are consumers that eat dead plants or dead animals (carrion). |
What are the four levels of consumers? | primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary |
Primary (1°) Consumers | “first eaters”---these consumers eat the producers. |
Secondary (2°) Consumers | “second eaters”---these consumers eat the primary consumers. |
Tertiary (3°) Consumers | third eaters”---these consumers eat the secondary consumers. |
Quaternary (4°) Consumers | “fourth eaters”---these consumers eat the tertiary consumers. |
Decomposers | are organisms that break down the cells of dead material and recycle the nutrients back into the ecosystem. Eventually all food chains end in decomposers. |
Examples of decomposers | mushrooms, molds, yeast, and bacteria. |
Conditions that promote decomposers(help them to live) are... | warmth, lots of air, lots of food, moisture (water) and darkness |
What is the difference between scavengers and decomposers? | scavengers eat dead material that they find (they have mouths) and decomposers break down the cells of dead material. |