Characteristics of Life,
Ecology, & Biospheres
Please Bring in Pictures of Food!
Question of the Day
Question: What do you know about biospheres?
Answer: … … …
Food chain- series of steps in which organisms
transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Food chain- series of steps in which organisms
transfer energy by eating and being eaten
Producer- makes energy-rich compounds that are
later used by other organisms
Food webnetwork of
feeding
interactions
(network of
food chains)
Primary consumereats producers
Secondary
consumer- eats
primary
consumers
Tertiary
consumer- eats
secondary
consumers
F
B
I
ungi
acteria
nsects
Decomposer- breaks down
dead organisms, recycling
nutrients
24-Hour Food Log
Biosphere:
a collection of ecosystems in a closed space
In Your Notebook, pp. 65, 67
• P. 65: Draw a circle
and label it “Me.”
Then, draw five
concentric circles
and label each of
them with the
appropriate level of
organization.
Describe your
population,
community, etc.
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Me
In Your Notebook, pp. 65, 67
• P. 67: In your own words, explain the
difference between biotic and abiotic factors.
Give three examples of each.
• The difference between biotic factors and
abiotic factors is that biotic refers to living and
abiotic refers to non-living. Examples of biotic
factors include plants, animals, bacteria, and
fungi. Examples of abiotic factors include
sunlight, air temperature, and precipitation.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 1a. Question: What are the six different major
levels of organization, from smallest to
largest, that ecologists commonly study?
• 1a. The six different major levels of
organization are individual organism,
population, community, ecosystem, biome,
and biosphere.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 1b. Question: Give an example of two objects
or activities in your life that are
interdependent. Explain your choice.
• 1b. An example of two activities in my life that
are interdependent are cycling and my health.
I need a healthy body to cycle and cycling
helps maintain a healthy body.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 2a. Question: Is weather a biotic or abiotic
factor?
• 2a. Weather is an abiotic factor.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 3a. Question: Describe the three basic
methods of ecological research.
• 3a. The three basic methods of ecological
research are observing, which is using
observations to answer questions about
ecology; experimenting, which involves testing
a hypothesis in a lab or natural setting; and
modeling, which is the use of models, such as
mathematical formulas, to answer questions
about ecology.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 3b. Question: Give an example of an ecological
phenomenon that could be studied by
modeling. Explain why modeling would be
useful.
• 3b. Global warming is an ecological problem
that could be studied by modeling more easily
than by observation or experimentation
because it occurs over a large area and a long
period of time.
A.Q. 1ab, 2a, 3ab, 4 on p. 68
• 4. Question: Suppose you want to know if the
water in a certain stream is safe to drink.
Which ecological method(s) would you use in
your investigation? Explain your reasoning
and outline your procedure.
• 4. To determine if the water in a stream is safe
to drink, I would conduct an experiment
where 10 water samples are tested at 10
different locations in the stream…
Biospheres