Biomes
Ecosystems
Living things
Habitat & Niche
Ecosystem Relationships
Vocabulary
100

What is a biome?

a large area defined by climate conditions, and as a result, animals and plants with specific adaptations to that climate.

100

What is an ecosystem?

A localized area of living things and abiotic factors.

100

True or False. Sunlight is a living thing.

False

100

What is a habitat?

Where an organisms lives. Includes abiotic and biotic factors.

100

True or False. Each organism in an ecosystem interacts with other organisms as it goes about its daily activities.

True

100

What is a biotic factor?

Living components

200

What living systems are biomes made up of?

Ecosystems or habitats. Either answer.

200

What factors are included in an ecosystem?

Abiotic and biotic factors

200

True or False. Air is not a living thing.

True.

200

What is a niche?

How an organism lives in its habitat. Essentially, what its role is in an ecosystem. 
200

What are some limited resources that two organisms may compete for?

Food, water, shelter, mates/reproduction

200

What is an abiotic factor?

nonliving components

300

What biome is dry with little rain?

Desert

300

What living systems are ecosystems made up of?

Communities and populations

300

Name at least two of the five characteristics of living things (traditional definition)? 

made of one or more cells

reproduce on its own

grow and change over time

require an energy source to survive

respond to changes in environment

300

What is the niche of a shark?

Predator. Keeps population off fish in balance.

300

True or False. A capybara eating grass is an example of a predator-prey relationship.

True

300

What is predation?

Process by which one organism, the predator, captures and feeds upon another organism, the prey - transfer of energy in the food chain.

400

What biome is humid, rainy, warm, and filled with biodiversity?

Rainforest

400

What is a population?

A group of the same species living in the same area

400

What is the alternative definition of a living thing?

an emergent property of a collection of nonliving things.
400

What is the niche of a cactus?

Provides shelter, water, and food source in the desert for other animals.

400

True or False. All relationships between two or more organisms of different species always results in one benefitting and the other being harmed. 

False.

400

What is competition? 

Two organisms compete for the same limited resource. 

500

What biome is aquatic and with salt water?

Marine

500

What mechanism do ecosystems have in order to maintain balance?

Feedback mechanism
500

Provide a Claim (statement), Evidence (which definition of living you use), and Reasoning (how viruses fit into that definition) that viruses are not living.

Viruses are not living. The traditional definition of life is that it includes one or more cells, reproduces on its own, grows/develops, and requires an energy source. Viruses do not require an energy source to survive, they do not grow or develop, and they cannot reproduce on their own.

500

True or False. A niche is species-specific.

True.

500

Name the three types of symbiotic relationships.

mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

500

What is mutualism? 

Define and give an example.

Both species benefit from the relationship. 

Shrimp cleans the mouth of a fish. Shrimp gets food, fish keeps mouth clean from harmful infections.


600

Name the 9 major biomes.

Tundra, Taiga, Rainforest, Temperate Forests, desert, savanna, marine, freshwater, grassland

600

What is the main difference between a biome and an ecosystem?

Ecosystem is a localized area/community of living organisms and abiotic factors, whereas a biome is a much larger region.

600

Provide a Claim (statement), Evidence (which definition of living you use), and Reasoning (how viruses fit into that definition) that viruses are a living thing.

Viruses are a living thing. Living things can be defined as an emergent property of nonliving components Viruses are made up of nonliving things that together form an emergent property of reproducing within a host, jumping from host to host, and harming a host. 

Viruses are a living thing. The traditional definition of living things includes that it responds to changes in environment. Viruses do respond to changes in their environment by evolving and adapting genetically to better survive. 

600

What three major factors make up a species' niche?

Food sources, abiotic conditions, and behaviors.

600

What is the difference between commensalism and parasitism? Compare and contrast the two.

In commensalism, one organism benefits, like in parasitism. But unlike parasitism, the other organism is unharmed in commensalism, whereas in parasitism, the other organism is harmed.

600

What is commensalism?

Define and provide example. 

one organism receives an ecological benefit, the other is neither benefitting nor harmed. 


Birds nest in trees. Trees don't benefit, but are also not harmed. Bird gets a shelter for its nest.