Chapter 4- The Organization
of Life
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I. Ecosystems: Everything is
Connected
A. Defining an Ecosystem
1. An ecosystem is all of the organisms
living in an area together with their
physical environment.
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Fresh water ecosystem
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2. Things move from one ecosystem into
another.
3. There are no boundaries.
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B. The Components of an Ecosystem
1. An ecosystem is made up of both
living and non living things.
2. Biotic factors are the living and once
living parts of an ecosystem, including all
plants and animals.
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3. Abiotic factors are the nonliving parts of
an ecosystem.
4. Include: air, water, rocks, sand, light and
temperature.
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5. Scientists organize living things into
levels.
6. An organism is an individual living thing.
7. A species is a group of organisms that
can mate to produce fertile offspring.
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8. A population is all the members of the
same species that live in the same place
at the same time.
9. Every population is part of a community, a
group of various species that live in the
same place and interact with each other.
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ORGANISM
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SPECIES
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POPULATIONS
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COMMUNITY
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C. Habitat
1. The place an organism lives is called
its habitat.
2. Organisms tend to be very well suited
to their natural habitats.
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II. Evolution
A. Evolution by Natural Selection
1. Darwin used the term natural
selection to describe the survival and
reproduction of organsisms with
particular traits.
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2. A change in the genetic characteristics
of a population from one generation to the
next is called evolution.
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3. Adaptation is an inherited trait that
increases an organism’s chance of
survival and reproduction in a certain
environment.
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4. The process of two species evolving in
response to long-term interactions with
each other is called coevolution.
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5. The selective breeding of organisms by
humans for specific characteristics is
called artificial selection.
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6. Sometimes humans cause populations of
organisms to evolve unwanted
adaptations.
7. Resistance is the ability of one or more
organisms to tolerate a particular chemical
designed to kill it.
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III. The Diversity of Living Things
A. There are six Kingdoms
1. archaebacteria
2. eubacteria
3. fungi
4. protists
5. plants
6. animals
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B. Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
1. Archaebacteria are found in extreme
places.
2. Eubacteria are common and can be
found in soil and animal bodies.
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C. Fungi
1. A fungus is an organisms whose cells
nuclei and cell walls and they break down
dead and decaying matter.
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D. Protists
1. Protists are a diverse group of onecelled organisms and they many-celled
relatives.
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E. Plants
1. Gymnosperms are woody plants that
produce seeds, but their seeds are not
enclosed in fruits.
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2. Angiosperms are flowering plants that
produce seeds in fruit.
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F. Animals
1. Animals that lack backbones are
invertebrates.
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2. Vertebrates are animals with a
backbone.
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THE END
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