Ecology Unit
Lesson 1 , 2 and 3
Living Things and the
Environment
Do Now
Open your books to page 6 and
take a picture walk through the
chapter to page 10.
What do I need to know as I read?
• What needs are met by an organism’s
surroundings?
• What are the two parts of an organism’s
habitat?
• What are the levels of organization within
an ecosystem?
Chapter Vocabulary
• In the back of your
packet on the
vocabulary page,
write the following
terms:
Organism
Habitat
Biotic Factors
Abiotic Factors
Species
Populations
Community
Ecosystem
Vocabulary check
• Organism: any living thing
• Habitat: an environment that provides the things the
organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce.
• Biotic Factors: the living parts of a habitat
• Abiotic Factors: the non-living parts of an organism’s
habitat – water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, soil
• Species: a group of organisms that are physically similar
and can mate with each other to produce offspring
• Population: All the members of a one species in a
particular area
• Community: all the different populations that live
together
• Ecosystem: the community of organisms that live in a
particular area, along with their non-living surroundings
How are ecosystems organized?
1. Organism – one prairie
dog
2. Population of Prairie dogs
3. Community of different
organisms
4. Ecosystem- all living and
nonliving things
interacting on the prarie
Hierarchy of Ecosystems
• In the diagram, where
would you place…
Organisms?
Populations?
Community?
Ecosystems?
• Organization of an
ecosystem.
Ecosystem Organization Hierarchy
Organisms
Populations
Community
Ecosystems
Do Now
• Using pages 6-10, complete the workbook
pages 47-50 numbers 1-18
• You may work in pairs if you choose to.
DO NOW
• Get a book from the side.
• Take your ecology packets out and open
to last nights homework.
Let’s check our answers for 1-18!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
organism
Habitat
Needs food, water, and shelter
False
a, b, d
Biotic factors
Abiotic factors
Water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, soil
a, c
Photosynthesis
b, d
A species is a group of organisms that can
mate and reproduce offspring.
More answers!
13. A, b, c
14. False
15. Community
16. D
17. True
18. An ecosystem also includes abiotic
factors
Do Now
• Find pg. 51 in your packet.
• Use the picture on page 11 to help you
answer questions 1-3
• Use your vocabulary page in the packet to
help you answer #4-8
Answers to Page 51
1. organism – population – community –
ecosystem
2. a.) Buffalo, grass, hawks, snakes, owls, flies
b.) water, soil, sunlight, oxygen, temperature
c.) Trees- hawks underground – worms
prairie – buffalo water – fish
3. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact
with their environment.
Lets Analyze an Ecosystem – pg
52 in packet
• Biotic factors found in this picture: blue-jay, bear, dragon fly, frog,
lizard, fish, squirrel, cattail plant, ferns, grass, trees
• Abiotic factors found in this picture: warm temperatures, oxygen in
the air, soil and rocks, sunlight, water
• Habitats (homes of the animals)
Bear – forest
blue jay – trees, ground, sky
squirrel – trees, ground
Fish – water
Lizard – ground, under rocks
Dragonfly – weeds, sky, near water
Frog – pond, stream, lake
Studying Populations
Do Now
• In the back of your packet on the vocabulary
page, write the following new vocabulary words
• Birth Rate
• Death Rate
• Immigration
• Emigration
• Population Density
• Limiting Factors
• Carrying Capacity
Reading the chapter
• First, open your books to page 13.
• Then, lets discuss your new vocabulary
words.
• Now, help me with a little demonstration…
Do Now
• Get a Science book from the side. Using
pages 13-19, define the vocabulary words
you wrote yesterday.
rabbit
Vocabulary Check
1. Birth Rate: the number of births in a population in a certain amount of time
2. Death Rate: the number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time.
3. Immigration: moving into a population
4. Emigration: leaving a population
5. Population Density: the number of individuals in a specific area – population
density = number of individuals / unit area
6. Limiting Factors: an environmental factor that causes a population to decrease
( things like food, water, weather and space are limiting factors)
7. Carrying Capacity: the largest population an area can support.
Use the equation to see how many frogs are in 1 sq. meter
Population density =
# of individuals
------------------Unit Area
5 meters
5 meters
How to solve the problem
X= 25 frogs
• Count the number of
x’s
• Divide that number by
the unit area which is
25 meters. ( 5x5)
• Your answer should
be 1 frog per sq
meter.
Do Now
Open packet to p. 58
• Fill in the missing
information in your
guided notes packet.
Do Now
• Please get a science book and then get
your homework out (worksheet pg. 58 in
packet)
Page 58 Answers
Take out your packet and open to page 58
5. Populations can change
in size when new
members are added or
when members leave
the population.
6. Through the birth of
offspring
7. Birth Rate
8. Dying
9. Death Rate
10. False
11. B – moving into a
population
12. A - Leaving a
population
13. True
14. Limiting factors
15. food, water, space and
weather are the limiting
factors.
16. Carrying capacity
17. True
18. Frost can kill organisms,
floods and hurricanes
can wash away nests
and burrows
Answers to Study Guide
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Any living thing
Environment
Habitat
Living – nonliving
Alive (has the 7 characteristics of life)
Any living organism
Abiotic Factors
–
–
–
–
–
8.
Sun
Water
Oxygen
Temperature
Soil
Levels of organization
–
–
–
–
Species
Population
Community
ecosystem
Answers to Study Guide
organism, population, community, ecosystem
•
LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION
•
•
•
1a. Food, water, shelter
1b. It would either leave or die
2a. Biotic factors are the living things in an ecosystem and abiotic factors of
the non living things in an ecosystem
2b. sunlight, water oxygen, temperature and soil (SWOTS)
2c. Without sunlight, there would be no plant life and we need plants not
only for food but also for oxygen. Without water, no living organism could
survive. It is essential for life.
3a. Organism, population, community, ecosystem
3b. A community because a community means all the different populations
in an area living in the same ecosystem.
3c. If one population decreases, another might also because they depend
on one another for food. For example, if the numbers of mice were low, then
the hawks and owls would have a hard time finding food and their numbers
could be in trouble too.
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