Chapter 4: Ecosystems
1. Ecosystem- all the living and nonliving things that interact with one
another in a given area.
2. What nonliving things are found in ecosystems? Why are they
important?
Air, water, sunlight, and soil. Each is critical in the health
of the whole system.
3. Community- is the group of living things of different species found in
an ecosystem
4. Population- is all the organisms of a given species that live together in
the same area.
5. How do scientists classify the parts of an ecosystem?
Ecosystem, community, population, individual
5. Biome- is a large group of ecosystems that have similar
characteristics.
6. Climate- refers to the type of weather that occurs in an area over a
long period of time.
7. What factors distinguish one biome from another?
Climate and type of vegetation
8. What is a biome? List six examples of biomes.
A biome is a large group of ecosystems that have similar
characteristics. The six biomes are tundra, taiga,
temperate forest, tropical rain forest, grassland, and
desert.
9. Tropical Rain Forests- forests that are both very rainy and very hot.
10. Tropical rain forests are warm and wet all year round.
11. Temperate Forests- forests that experience four distinct seasons:
summer, fall, winter, and spring.
12. Trees that lose their leaves in cool fall weather are common where?
Temperate rain forests
13. Grasslands- land covered with grass and few trees.
14. Desert- is the driest biome.
15. Very limited populations survive in Earth’s driest deserts.
16. Describe the plant and animal life found in the desert. How are living
things found in the tropical rain forest different?
Desert plants have a waxy coating and spiny leaves. Desert
animals are adapted to live with little water. Tropical rain
forests are full of tall trees with broad leaves, vines,
colorful flowers, and diverse animal populations.
17. Taiga- biome that has long, severe winters and short, cool summers.
18. Tundra- is the Earth’s coldest biome.
19. Marine biomes are different from freshwater ecosystems because
they are salty.
20. Food Chain- describes how energy in an ecosystem flows from one
organism to another.
21. Food Web- description of all the food chains in an ecosystem.
22. Arrange the organisms in a food web: algae, bear, bullfrog, earthworm,
hawk, owl, trout, and water strider. Name whether the animal is a
producer, decomposer or what level it would be on the web.
Producer-algae
1st level-water strider
2nd level-bullfrog
3rd level-hawk, owl
4th level-bear
Decomposer-earthworm
23. Herbivore- plant eater.
24. Carnivore- meat eater.
25. Omnivore- eats both plants and animals.
26. What percent of the energy that is available at one level of an energy
pyramid passes to the next level?
10%
27. Describe how energy flows through an ecosystem.
Energy goes from producers to consumers to decomposers.