Living and Nonliving Factors in Freshwater Ecosystems

What is an ecosystem?

• Only living things in a particular area
• A place where plants, animals, and non-living things live together
• Just the weather in an area
• A type of plant

Which of these is a biotic factor in a garden?

• Rocks
• Air
• Butterfly
• Sunlight

Which example shows abiotic factors?

• Trees and grass
• Birds and worms
• Flowers and bees
• Water and soil

What type of water do we find in lakes and streams?

• Saltwater
• Freshwater
• Ocean water
• Mineral water

What are nutrients?

• Things in the soil that help plants grow
• Types of rocks
• Different kinds of weather
• Small insects

What is a community in nature?

• A city of people
• Only plants growing together
• Living things that share a space and interact
• Only animals living together

When something thrives, it:

• Dies quickly
• Stays the same size
• Grows and develops well
• Moves to a new place

What does it mean when an animal has adapted?

• It has moved to a new home
• It has changed to survive better
• It has gotten smaller
• It has disappeared

What happens when leaves decompose?

• They turn different colors
• They float in the wind
• They grow bigger
• They break down into smaller parts

What are organisms?

• Individual living things
• Only plants
• Only animals
• Non-living things