Understanding Ecosystems and Interdependence

What is an ecosystem?

• A community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

• A single animal or plant species.

• The conditions in a laboratory.

• How animals adapt to extreme climates.

What is interdependence?

• How plants grow in the soil.

• The process of photosynthesis.

• When organisms rely on each other to survive.

• When organisms don’t rely on each other to survive.

Which of these is an example of a biotic factor?

• Amount of sunlight.

• Temperature.

• Soil type.

• Plants and animals.

What is the role of producers in a food chain?

• To eat other organisms.

• To produce energy through photosynthesis.

• To compete with animals for food.

• To catch prey for predators.

Which of these is an abiotic factor?

• The number of herbivores in an area.

• Temperature.

• Disease affecting animals.

• Predators.

What is a predator?

• An animal that eats plants.

• An organism that makes its own food.

• An animal that hunts other animals for food.

• A plant that competes with others for sunlight.

In a stable community, what happens to the population sizes of predators and prey over time?

• They remain completely constant.

• They fluctuate in a balanced cycle.

• Prey populations always decrease.

• Predators disappear entirely.

Why do plants compete with each other?

• To catch prey.

• To scare off herbivores.

• To access sunlight, water, and nutrients.

• To attract predators.

What does a food chain show?

• The size of a population.

• The flow of energy between organisms.

• The physical environment of an ecosystem.

• How water cycles through a habitat.

Which of these is an example of mutualism (a beneficial relationship between two species)?

• A bird eating a worm.

• A bee pollinating a flower.

• Two animals fighting for the same food source.

• A parasite living inside an animal.