Ecosystems
What is an ecosystem?
A system made up of living and nonliving things that interact.
What is the main gas plants take in during photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide.
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food using sunlight
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead plants and animals.
Give one example of a living and one nonliving thing in an ecosystem.
Living: plant, animal; Nonliving: water, sunlight, rocks.
What gas do plants release during photosynthesis?
Oxygen.
Give an example of a producer.
Grass, trees, or algae.
Name two examples of decomposers.
Fungi and bacteria.
What happens if one part of an ecosystem changes or is removed?
It affects all the other parts because everything is connected.
What do plants use to make their food?
Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
Why are producers important to an ecosystem?
They provide food and energy for other living things.
What is compost?
Decayed plant and food waste that turns into nutrient-rich soil.
What is it called when an animal’s surroundings provide the things it needs to live?
A habitat.
Where does photosynthesis mainly take place in the plant?
In the leaves (chloroplasts).
What would happen if producers disappeared from an ecosystem?
Animals would have no food source and the food chain would collapse.
Why are decomposers important in nature?
They recycle nutrients back into the soil for plants to use.
How do decomposers, producers, and consumers all work together in an ecosystem?
Producers make food, consumers eat producers, and decomposers break down dead matter to return nutrients to the soil.
Explain how photosynthesis helps animals and humans survive.
It produces oxygen for us to breathe and food for the food chain.
How do producers get energy from the sun?
Through photosynthesis, turning sunlight into food (glucose).
What would happen if decomposers didn’t exist?
Dead material would pile up and nutrients wouldn’t return to the soil.