Ecology Unit

Lesson 1 , 2 and 3

Living Things and the Environment

Do NowOpen your books to page 6 and take a picture walk through the

chapter to page 10.

What do I need to know as I read?

• What needs are met by an organism’s surroundings?

• What are the two parts of an organism’s habitat?

• What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?

Chapter Vocabulary

• In the back of your packet on the vocabulary page, write the following terms:

Organism

Habitat

Biotic Factors

Abiotic Factors

Species

Populations

Community

Ecosystem

Vocabulary check• Organism: any living thing• Habitat: an environment that provides the things the

organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce.• Biotic Factors: the living parts of a habitat• Abiotic Factors: the non-living parts of an organism’s

habitat – water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, soil• Species: a group of organisms that are physically similar

and can mate with each other to produce offspring• Population: All the members of a one species in a

particular area• Community: all the different populations that live

together • Ecosystem: the community of organisms that live in a

particular area, along with their non-living surroundings

How are ecosystems organized?

1. Organism – one prairie dog

2. Population of Prairie dogs

3. Community of different organisms

4. Ecosystem- all living and nonliving things interacting on the prarie

Hierarchy of Ecosystems

• In the diagram, where would you place…

Organisms? Populations? Community? Ecosystems?

• Organization of an ecosystem.

Ecosystem Organization Hierarchy

Organisms

Populations

Community

Ecosystems

Do Now

• Using pages 6-10, complete the workbook pages 47-50 numbers 1-18

• You may work in pairs if you choose to.

DO NOW

• Get a book from the side.

• Take your ecology packets out and open to last nights homework.

Let’s check our answers for 1-18!1. organism2. Habitat3. Needs food, water, and shelter4. False5. a, b, d6. Biotic factors7. Abiotic factors8. Water, sunlight, oxygen, temperature, soil9. a, c10. Photosynthesis11. b, d12. A species is a group of organisms that can

mate and reproduce offspring.

More answers!

13. A, b, c

14. False

15. Community

16. D

17. True

18. An ecosystem also includes abiotic factors

Do Now

• Find pg. 51 in your packet.

• Use the picture on page 11 to help you answer questions 1-3

• Use your vocabulary page in the packet to help you answer #4-8

Answers to Page 51

1. organism – population – community – ecosystem

2. a.) Buffalo, grass, hawks, snakes, owls, flies

b.) water, soil, sunlight, oxygen, temperature

c.) Trees- hawks underground – worms

prairie – buffalo water – fish

3. Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment.

Lets Analyze an Ecosystem – pg 52 in packet

• Biotic factors found in this picture: blue-jay, bear, dragon fly, frog, lizard, fish, squirrel, cattail plant, ferns, grass, trees

• Abiotic factors found in this picture: warm temperatures, oxygen in the air, soil and rocks, sunlight, water

• Habitats (homes of the animals)Bear – forest

blue jay – trees, ground, sky

squirrel – trees, ground

Fish – water

Lizard – ground, under rocks

Dragonfly – weeds, sky, near water

Frog – pond, stream, lake

Studying Populations

Do Now • In the back of your packet on the vocabulary

page, write the following new vocabulary words• Birth Rate• Death Rate• Immigration• Emigration• Population Density• Limiting Factors• Carrying Capacity

Reading the chapter

• First, open your books to page 13.

• Then, lets discuss your new vocabulary words.

• Now, help me with a little demonstration…

Do Now

• Get a Science book from the side. Using pages 13-19, define the vocabulary words you wrote yesterday.

rabbit

Vocabulary Check1. Birth Rate: the number of births in a population in a certain amount of time

2. Death Rate: the number of deaths in a population in a certain amount of time.

3. Immigration: moving into a population

4. Emigration: leaving a population

5. Population Density: the number of individuals in a specific area – population density = number of individuals / unit area

6. Limiting Factors: an environmental factor that causes a population to decrease ( things like food, water, weather and space are limiting factors) 7. Carrying Capacity: the largest population an area can support.

Use the equation to see how many frogs are in 1 sq. meter Population density = # of individuals

------------------- Unit Area

5 meters

5 meters

How to solve the problem

• Count the number of x’s

• Divide that number by the unit area which is 25 meters. ( 5x5)

• Your answer should be 1 frog per sq meter.

X= 25 frogs

Do Now Open packet to p. 58

• Fill in the missing information in your guided notes packet.

Do Now

• Please get a science book and then get your homework out (worksheet pg. 58 in packet)

Page 58 AnswersTake out your packet and open to page 58

5. Populations can change in size when new members are added or when members leave the population.

6. Through the birth of offspring

7. Birth Rate8. Dying9. Death Rate10. False11. B – moving into a

population

12. A - Leaving a population

13. True14. Limiting factors15. food, water, space and

weather are the limiting factors.

16.Carrying capacity17.True18.Frost can kill organisms,

floods and hurricanes can wash away nests and burrows

Answers to Study Guide1. Any living thing2. Environment3. Habitat4. Living – nonliving5. Alive (has the 7 characteristics of life)6. Any living organism7. Abiotic Factors

– Sun– Water– Oxygen– Temperature– Soil

8. Levels of organization– Species– Population– Community– ecosystem

Answers to Study Guide

• LEVELS OF ORGANIZATION organism, population, community, ecosystem

• 1a. Food, water, shelter

• 1b. It would either leave or die

• 2a. Biotic factors are the living things in an ecosystem and abiotic factors of the non living things in an ecosystem

• 2b. sunlight, water oxygen, temperature and soil (SWOTS)

• 2c. Without sunlight, there would be no plant life and we need plants not only for food but also for oxygen. Without water, no living organism could survive. It is essential for life.

• 3a. Organism, population, community, ecosystem

• 3b. A community because a community means all the different populations in an area living in the same ecosystem.

• 3c. If one population decreases, another might also because they depend on one another for food. For example, if the numbers of mice were low, then the hawks and owls would have a hard time finding food and their numbers could be in trouble too.