Catalyst (4 min)
Describe the picture below by making FOUR
observations about what you SEE
Biotic vs. Abiotic
Factors
9-21-10
Announcements
IF THE CLASS BEHAVES IN THE
HALLWAYS
I REPEAT…IF, IF, IF…… EVERYONE IN
THE CLASS BEHAVES…..
THIS MEANS: You walk quietly, you stay on
one side of the hallway, you stay with the
group.
THEN We will go outside to do a nature
observation LAB
Abiotic Factors
Non-living factors
that affect living
organisms
 Examples:

– pond,
mountain
 Weather – clouds,
sun
 Habitat
Biotic Factors
LIVING organisms
 Examples:

 Animals
 Plants
 Fungi
Characteristics of Living Things
Obtain and use energy
 Grow and develop
 Reproduce
 Respond to their
environment
 Adapt to their
environment

Lab: Abiotic vs biotic Observation
Abiotic without life.
Example a rock.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Biotic with life.
Example a mouse.
Observe around you quietly. Use your
different senses : touch, hearing,
vision,….
It is OK to touch the trees or shrubs, but
don’t pick leaves or flowers!
Write 10 biotic things on your T-chart.
Things like grass, tree etc.
Write 10 abiotic things on your T-chart
Things like rock, brick etc.
We must BE RESPECTFUL







Walk quietly in the halls
We must not disturb other classes
We WILL go outside again if the class behaves
NO leaving the group, no yelling, no loud voices,
no littering, no cell phones out
Pay attention to directions
Do not stray far from the group
You can touch things, but do not strip leaves from
plants
We still have things to finish after going outside,
so we need to do our work quickly and come
back quickly
Exit Slip: Before you leave…
Write your name on both the BLUE and
GREEN post-its
 Write one of your BIOTIC things from your
list on the GREEN post it and place it on
the class t-chart
 Write one of your ABIOTIC things from
your list on the BLUE posit it and place it
on the class t-chart

Extra credit Activity:do another
nature observation in your
neighborhood
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
How many different shades of green did you see?
Look closely at the leaves of the plants. Find one
with dull leaves, one with shiny leaves, soft leaves
etc. How many different leaf textures were you able
to observe?
How many of the plants are flowering now?
How many of the plants have seeds on them?
How many leaves are already turning Fall colors?
Did you see any dead plants? What might have killed
them?
Does the ground look wet or dry?
Do any of the plants seem unhealthy?
Teacher only notes:Interactive
things to do
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Unearth a rock with bugs-what is biotic here
Pick up a fallen stick, dried fallen leaf are these abiotic or biotic
Cut a leaf off a plant is the leaf biotic or abiotic—when did it become
abiotic
Bigger question-when is a part of a plant alive and when is it dead
Get some soil are there living things and non living things mixed in here
Put some pond water in a jar—are there living and non living things in
here
Seeds that have fallen like the leaf and the stick, are they biotic or abiotic.
If answer is biotic, why are the stick and the leaf from 2 biotic also?
Bark on the tree trunk abiotic or biotic, bark that I peel off biotic or abiotic,
when did the bark die??
The energy/warmth from the sun-- abiotic or biotic
Wind on our faces-biotic or abiotic?
How do we know where life begins and ends?
Lab: Abiotic vs biotic Observation
Biotic with life.
Abiotic without life.
Example a rock.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Example a mouse.
Observe around you quietly. Use your
different senses : touch, hearing,
vision,….
It is OK to touch the trees or shrubs, but
don’t pick any leaves or flowers!
Write 10 biotic things on your green
sheet. Things like grass, tree etc.
Write 10 abiotic things on your blue
sheet. Things like rock, brick etc.