Name______________________________________________
Introduction to Ecosystems - Biotic and Abiotic
Organisms interact with the living and nonliving parts of their ecosystem. Describe biotic and
abiotic parts of an ecosystem in which organisms interact.
1. Brainstorm with your table partner. List all of the words that you could use to describe a desert
ecosystem. Record the words in the text box below.
2. Categorize the descriptions you brainstormed into the T-chart below. Don’t forget to include the
titles (biotic vs. abiotic) for each side.
3. Watch the video clip your teacher plays. Write down any interactions between biotic organisms
and between biotic and abiotic factors that you observe in the clip.


Circle all abiotic factors.
Put a ‘B’ on all biotic organisms.
1. Use the Frayer method to define Biotic and Abiotic.
BIOTIC
ABIOTIC
2. What does interact mean?
3. How does a scorpion interact with its biotic and abiotic surroundings?
4. What does a scorpion have that allows it to survive in this ecosystem?
5. Watch the second video clip your teacher plays. Write down the interactions between biotic
organisms and between biotic and abiotic factors.
6. Circle all abiotic factors.
7. Put a ‘B’ on all biotic organisms.
Teacher page- Key
Introduction to Ecosystems:
1. Have students brainstorm with a partner to come up with any words they can think of that might relate
to a desert ecosystem.
2. Make a T-chart on the board.
3. Give the students 2-3 minutes and then ask them to share their words with you. As they call out the
words, place the living things on one side and the non-living things on the other side of the T-chart.
4. Once you have placed several words on each side, ask the students what they think would be a good
title each side.
5. Introduce the words biotic and abiotic. Tell the students that the left side of the chart lists only living
things. These organisms are referred to as biotic components. The right side contains only non-living
things (that never were alive). These are the abiotic components.
6. Have the students copy the T-chart on their papers with the titles Biotic- living and Abiotic- non-living.
7. Example:
BIOTIC- living
ABIOTIC- non-living
Jack rabbit
Sand
Cactus
Wind
Rattlesnake
Rocks
Roadrunner
Water
Scorpion
Heat
Lizard
8. Have students fill out a Frayer method definition for Biotic and Abiotic.
A living thing or a product of a living thing
Alive
Part of an ecosystem
Interact with environment and each other
BIOTIC
Animals
Fungi
Plants
Insects
Birds
Air
Interact wi
Soil
Rocks
Water
Sunlight
Minerals
ABIOTIC
9. Ask: What does it mean to interact? To have an effect on each other or to work together
10. Have students write the definition for interact on their papers. (number 4)
11. Go to an internet site with information about the desert scorpion such as:
http://animals.pawnation.com/adaptations-sahara-desert-scorpions-5402.html
12. Ask students to write down some ways that scorpions interact with the biotic and abiotic components of
the desert ecosystem. They eat spiders, ants, beetles, and sometimes other scorpions; they rarely drink
water; mate with each other; burrow in the sand
13. What does a scorpion have that allows it to survive in this ecosystem? Its tough exoskeleton protects it
from the sun’s heat and from predators. Scorpions can get the water they need from their prey.
Scorpions are nocturnal so they avoid the heat of day.
14. Discuss why a scorpion could not live in the Arctic or in the ocean. Scorpions are cold-blooded, so their
body temperatures are close to the temperature of their surroundings. They would freeze in the Arctic.
They do not have gills, so they could not live in the ocean.
15. Show the students at least 2 video clips of organisms interacting with their environment. Have them
write down any interactions they observe.
Suggestions for links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pH_JUnBxDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DoWdHOtlrk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skXt0nRZ2sE