U4L1: What Is an Ecosystem?

1. An ecosystem is made of both biotic and abiotic things. Which describes the biotic part of the ecosystem?

•  plants that grow in soil 

• the animals that breathe oxygen 

• all living things in the environment

• plants and animals that live in water

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2. If you stand in the middle of an open field, you are standing among individual organisms, different species, populations, and communities. What makes up one of the populations in the field?

• all organisms of the same species

• the different communities in the ecosystem

• the communities that occupy the same niche

• all organisms that live in a certain part of the field

3. The rainforests in South America support many ecosystems. These ecosystems are healthy. How does the diversity in the rainforests help determine the health of ecosystems?

• When diversity is high, there are more resources

• Resources in the environment last longer when the diversity is low

• Less diverse ecosystems have less competition among the residents

• Areas with high diversity have increased competition among the residents

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4. Temperature, water, soil, and air are abiotic factors in an environment. They are not the same everywhere. What role do abiotic factors such as these play in an ecosystem?

• They control the changes of the seasons

• They prevent competition among populations

• They determine which plants and animals can live there

• They help control the effect humans might have on ecosystems

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5. When scientists talk about an ecosystem and the type and number of animals and plants that live in one, they are also concerned about limiting factors. What are limiting factors?

• the rate at which the plants and animals in an ecosystem reach maturity

•  the ratio of animals that lay eggs and those that give birth to live young 

• the things that are necessary to support a population of organisms in anarea

• the difference between trees that lose their leaves in an ecosystem and those that don't 

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