Chapter 4 & 5 - Understanding Ecosystems & their Energy Transfer

Question 1

What is ENVIRONMENT?

Answer 1

all the living and nonliving things AROUND YOU; ie: people, other animals, plants, water, air, soil, and weather.

Question 2

What is the ECOSYSTEM?

Answer 2

all the living and nonliving things in an AREA; ie: space under a rock, home to insects and tiny plants or a forest.

Question 3

What is a POPULATION?

Answer 3

a group made of the same kind of individuals living in the same ecosystem. ie: hive of bees, people living in one city.

Question 4

What is a COMMUNITY?

Answer 4

all the populations that live in the same place

Question 5

What is CLIMATE?

Answer 5

the average weather over many years

Question 6

What are BIOTIC FACTORS?

Answer 6

living parts of an ecosystem; ie: plants and animals

Question 7

What are ABIOTIC FACTORS?

Answer 7

the nonliving parts of an ecosystem; ie: sunlight, air, water, soil, climate

Question 8

What is POLLUTION?

Answer 8

it’s what happens when harmful substances mix with water, air, or soil

Question 9

What is HABITAT RESTORATION?

Answer 9

when groups work together to repair damage to ecosystems ie: planting new trees, building parks

Question 10

What are RENEWABLE RESOURCES?

Answer 10

air, sunlight, water, plants, animals

Question 11

What are NONRENEWABLE RESOURCES?

Answer 11

coals, gas, oil – after we use it all, it will be gone forever

Question 12

What are PRODUCERS?

Answer 12

produce = to make – any living thing that can make its own food ie: plants

Question 13

What are CONSUMERS?

Answer 13

consume = to eat – an animal that eats plants or other animals

Question 14

What are three kinds of consumers?

Answer 14

herbivore, omnivore, carnivore

Question 15

What are HERBIVORES?

Answer 15

an animal that only eats plants ie: horses

Question 16

What are HERBIVORES?

Answer 16

an animal that eats both plants and other animals ie: bears

Question 17

What are CARNIVORES?

Answer 17

an animal that eats only other animals ie: lions

Question 18

What is a DECOMPOSER?

Answer 18

a living thing that feeds on wastes and on the remains of dead plants and animals. Decomposers break down wastes into nutrients. These nutrients become part of the soil ie: bacteria, earthworms

Question 19

What are HABITATS?

Answer 19

an environment that meets the needs of a living thing; each living thing in a habitat has a role.

Question 20

What is a NICHE?

Answer 20

a role; how a living thing interacts with its habitat. Part of a living thing’s niche is how it gets food and shelter. Also how it reproduces, cares for its young, and avoids danger.

Question 21

What is a FOOD CHAIN?

Answer 21

is the MOVEMENT OF FOOD ENERGY in a sequence of living things. Every food chain starts with producers at the very bottom and consumers at the top.

Question 22

What is a PREY?

Answer 22

Consumers that are eaten by other consumers. They are HUNTED

Question 23

What is are PREDATORS?

Answer 23

Consumers that eat prey. HUNTERS

Question 24

What are FOOD WEBS?

Answer 24

when food chains overlap

Question 25

What is an ENERGY PYRAMID?

Answer 25

shows how much energy is passed from one living thing to another living thing along a food chain

Question 26

What factors influence ecosystems?

Answer 26

Living things Nonliving things Climate Humans

Question 27

How do living things influence the ecosystems?

Answer 27

plants provide food - to insects, birds, animals, humans plants provide shelter animal droppings make soil richer

Question 28

How do nonliving things influence the ecosystems?

Answer 28

sunlight, air, water, and soil | ie: a change in water supply

Question 29

How does climates influence the ecosystems?

Answer 29

it affects plants, animals, soil, humans

Question 30

How do humans influence ecosystems?

Answer 30

positively - build new parks, plant trees, recycle | negatively - destroying habitats, pollution, buildings

Question 31

Where do producers get their energy?

Answer 31

the sun

Question 32

Where do consumers get their energy?

Answer 32

by eating plants, or by eating other animals that have eaten plants

Question 33

Who can make their own food?

Answer 33

producers

Question 34

What do plants need to live and grow?

Answer 34

sunlight

Question 35

What would happen to animals without plants?

Answer 35

animals that eat plants would die and animals that eat other animals would die

Question 36

Who gets their food from eating producers?

Answer 36

consumers

Question 37

Who are consumers?

Answer 37

Herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores

Question 38

How do herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores get their energy?

Answer 38

by eating other living things; they can not make their own food

Question 39

What would happen without decomposers?

Answer 39

Earth would be covered with dead plants and animals

Question 40

Where do all living things belong?

Answer 40

in a habitat

Question 41

What does each living thing have in a habitat?

Answer 41

a role

Question 42

What is a food chain that overlaps called?

Answer 42

Food Web