Types of Organisms
What are the three main types of organisms that can be found in an ecosystem?
Producers, consumers, and decomposers
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is all of the living and nonliving things in an environment.
This is the term for when a species of organism is in danger of becoming extinct.
Endangered
What are two main types of changes that may affect an ecosystem?
Natural changes and human changes.
Where do all food chains and food webs begin?
All food chains and food webs begin with the sun.
True or false: Trees get energy by eating other organisms.
False. Trees get energy by making their own food because they are producers.
What is a community?
All of the living things in an ecosystem.
This is the term for when the last member of a species has died.
Extinct
What is an example of a natural change in an ecosystem? Tell how your example affects an ecosystem.
(answers will vary)
Example: droughts
Droughts affect an ecosystem because when there is not enough rain, producers will die and there will be less food for consumers.
What are the parts of a food chain?
Sun > producer > consumer > decomposer
What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?
A producer gets energy by making its own food. A consumer gets energy by eating other organisms.
What does it mean if a species is extinct?
There are no more of them in an ecosystem.
The last known Tasmanian Tiger died in 1936, and there are no known Tasmanian Tigers left on Earth. This means that this species is:
Extinct
What is an example of a human change in an ecosystem? Tell how your example affects an ecosystem.
(answers may vary)
Example: pollution
Pollution affects an ecosystem by making oceans dirty and marine organisms sick and unhealthy.
What is a food web?
A complex diagram showing how various food chains in an ecosystem are interconnected.
What role does a decomposer play in an ecosystem? Give an example of a decomposer.
A decomposer gets energy by breaking down waste and the remains of dead organisms in an ecosystem. An example of a decomposer is a mushroom, dung beetle, worm, bacteria, fungi, etc.
What does it mean if a species is over-abundant?
If a species is over-abundant, that means that there are too many of that species in an ecosystem.
If lions become scarce in a savanna ecosystem, what affect might that have on the ecosystem's population of giraffes?
The population of giraffes would increase because there are fewer lions eating them.
How are natural changes and human changes in an environment different?
Natural changes are events that happen in nature to change the ecosystem, such as rain and wind. Human changes are events caused by humans that change an ecosystem.
How do you know which way the arrows point in a food chain and food web?
The arrows in a food chain or a food web point to the organism that is receiving the energy.
What is an example of each of the following type of organism?
-Producer:
-Consumer:
-Decomposer:
(answers may vary)
-Producer: trees, bushes, grass, seaweed, etc.
-Consumers: giraffes, mountain lions, deer, rabbits, etc.
-Decomposers: mushrooms, worms, dung beetles, bacteria, fungi, etc.
What does it mean if a species is scarce?
If a species is scarce, that means that there are very few of the species in an environment.
What is the difference between scarce species and over-abundant species?
Scarce means that there are too few of that species in an ecosystem, while over-abundant means that there are too many of that species.
Give 3 examples of natural changes to an ecosystem and 3 examples of human changes.
(answers may vary)
Natural: earthquakes, volcanoes, floods
Human: pollution, hunting, cutting down trees
Give an example of a food chain.
(answers will vary)
Sun > grass > rabbit > fungus