1. ecosystemAll of the living and nonliving things
that interact in an area
2. Organic matterThe remains of plants and animals
3. soil The loose material made of rock,
minerals, and organic matter that
covers much of Earth’s surface
1. Nonliving parts of an ecosystem are water, soil, air, light,
and temperature.
2. Plants need sunlight to make food.
3. Desert ecosystems are very dry and hot, while polar
ecosystems have ice covering the land, low
temperatures, and little sunlight.
4. Most plants grow well in soil that contains a lot of
organic matter. Organic matter is rich in nutrients.
5. Plants and animals need air to carry out their life
processes.
6. Nutrients are materials that help living things grow.
7. Each ecosystem has its own set of nonliving conditions.
8. Nonliving parts of ecosystems help living things meet
their needs. A living thing can only survive when its
needs are met.
4. prairieA grassy area with few trees
2. environmentEverything that surrounds and
affects a living thing
3. populationAll the members of one kind of
plant or animal in a community
5. rainforestAn area with warm temperatures all
year and a lot of sunlight and rainfall
1. communityThe living things in an ecosystem
6. Temperate zoneAn area of Earth where the
temperature rarely gets very hot or
very cold
2. Animals feed on grasses and their seeds in a prairie
ecosystem.
3. A forest ecosystem includes a large community of animals and
trees.
4. Deer eat grasses and tree leaves in a forest ecosystem. The
trees provide them with shelter and protection.
5. In the Florida Everglades ecosystem, most of the land is
covered by water. It is home to algae, shrimp, fish, wading birds.
6. Organisms survive where the conditions best meet their
needs.
7. Many kinds of plants and animals meet their needs in a
temperate zone without special adaptations.
8. Beavers use trees for shelter in a forest ecosystem.
9. A terrarium is a model of an ecosystem.
1. consumer An animal that gets energy by
eating plants or other animals
2. producer An organism that makes its own
food
3. pollinatorAn animal that helps plants
make seeds
4. reproductionThe process of making more of
one’s own kind
5. Seed dispersalThe scattering of seeds from
the plant that produced them
1. Living things that depend on each other to meet
their needs are interdependent.
2. Producers use energy from sunlight to make food.
3. Plants are producers. Consumers rely on plants or
other animals for energy. When an animal eats a
plant, energy transfers from the plant to the animal.
4. Some animals provide shelter for other animals.
(Ex- Woodchucks digging tunnels that rabbits, foxes,
and skunks live in.)
5. Insects and birds are pollinators because they help
pollinate flowers. This helps plants reproduce by
allowing them to make seeds.