The Ecosystem of the Forest

What is an ecosystem?

• a living being, such as a human, that eats other living beings in order to survive

• the process by which the body of a living thing is broken down by decomposers

• one particular area where several kinds of organisms interact with each other

• an organism that breathes in oxygen and then breathes out carbon dioxide

What does this passage explain?

• This passage explains what the difference between plants and fungi is.

• This passage explains what an ecosystem is and how it works.

• This passage explains how oxygen is used by the human body after it is breathed in.

• This passage explains what happens when a decomposer dies in the forest.

In an ecosystem, different organisms interact with each other.What evidence from the passage supports this statement?

• Plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide in a process called photosynthesis.

• Forest ecosystems cover about a quarter, or one-fourth, of the total land surface in the world.

• Producers are living things that can make their own energy out of non-living resources.

• A deer decomposing in the soil provides food for bacteria and nutrients for plants to grow.

Based on the information in the passage, what do all ecosystems have in common?

• All ecosystems are home to living beings that interact with each other.

• All ecosystems are home to trees, deer, humans, rodents, wolves, hawks, and bacteria.

• All ecosystems have an equal number of consumers, decomposers, and producers.

• All ecosystems have a few consumers that do not interact with decomposers and producers.

What is this passage mainly about?

• the differences between oxygen and carbon dioxide

• different kinds of consumers and the reasons they are “at the top of the food chain”

• different organisms in a forest ecosystem and how they interact

• what happens when the ecology of a forest is thrown off-balance

Read the following sentence: “Consumers are the living beings who need to eat other organisms to survive.”

What does the word organisms mean?

• environments

• waste matter

• categories

• living things

Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.Every organism in the forest can be put in one of three categories, _______ producer, decomposer, or consumer.

• namely

• although

• as a result

• earlier