Name________________________
Science Study Guide
Unit B Chapter 4 “Ecosystems in Balance”
Chapter 4 Vocabulary :
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
competition- The struggle among organisms for water, food, or other needs.
niche- The job or role an organism has in an ecosystem.
adaptation- A special characteristic that helps an organism survive.
camouflage- An adaptation that allows an organism to blend in with its
environment.
mimicry- The imitation by one animal of the traits of another.
perish- To fail to survive.
relocate- To find a new home.
endangered- an organism in danger of dying out.
extinct- No more of this type of organism alive.
Lesson 4 Concepts:
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2.
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4.
Organisms may compete for space, water, food, or some other need.
Different ecosystems support different numbers of organisms.
An organism’s niche includes what an organism does, eats, and how it interacts.
Temperate forests and Rain forests both have trees and birds. Rain forests are
much wetter and warmer with more plants and animals than the temperate
forests.
Lesson 5 Concepts:
1. Living things have adaptations that help them survive in the environment.
2. The beak shapes of birds are suited to the different kinds of food they eat.
3. Many adaptations help protect an organism from harm. ( for example:
camouflage)
4. Camouflage is an adaptation that allows an organism to blend in with its
environment.
5. Mimicry (looking like another organism) is an adaptation that protects an
organism.
6. Animals have many ways of defending themselves against danger. (for example:
keen sense of smell or hearing)
7. Some animals defend themselves by fighting with strong claws, sharp teeth, and
powerful jaws.
8. Some defenses are learned by animals while others are done by instinct.
9. Instinct is a way of acting that an animal is born with.
10. The conditions in each environment result in adaptations in its living things.
Lesson 6 Concepts:
1. Changes in ecosystems affect the plants and animals that live there.
2. A volcanic eruption, flood, or drought can change an ecosystem.
3. Fires, earthquakes, and storms can also change an ecosystem.
4. People can change ecosystems by cutting down trees to build homes, by building
a dam in a river they can make a wetland.
5. Ecosystems usually come back after a big change.
6. A forest goes thru 4 stages to come back after a fire. (Habitat destruction,
Grasses, Larger plants, and Forest)
7. Organisms respond to change in one of three ways: a) adjust
b) perish
c) relocate
7. Organisms that perish do not survive.
8. Organisms that relocate find a new home.
9. People can harm habitats by pollution and hunting animals.
10. An organism becomes endangered when there are very few of its kind.
11. People try to protect endangered animals by providing them a safe place to live
and by making laws against hunting animals that are endangered.
12. Extinct means that there are no more of a type of organism. (for example:
dinosaur)
13. Many organisms are becoming extinct even today as rain forests are cleared.
14. In the last 500 years, 500 kinds of organisms have become extinct in what is
now the United States.