Name:________________________________________ Date:________________________________________

Abiotics: “A! You Ain’t Alive!”Fancy Word Dictionary of Science:

A = notBiotic = something that is aliveBio = life

Background: Are there parts of an ecosystem that are not alive? Would you be able to live without air? Would a fish be able to live without water? So, sure, there are parts that are not alive (called abiotics) that are just as important as the living parts (biotics) in an ecosystem. Sometimes these abiotics are not necessarily things you can hold and touch. For example, temperature, humidity, daylength, pH (how acidic water is), and habitat size are not really things you can hold in your hand. Yet, they are vitally important.

On the table below, list some of the tangible abiotics (ones you can touch) and intangible abiotics (ones you can’t touch). Brainstorm with your table about what may be abiotic factors in an ecosystem. Think of a plant or animal that lives somewhere, and see if there is a reason that they live there instead of somewhere else. If you are having trouble, use the examples on the back of this page to help fill in the table. You may not be able to fill in the entire table, but you must at least have at least 6 per column.

Tangible Abiotics(ones you can hold and touch)

Intangible Abiotics(ones you can’t hold but are there)

1. What abiotic factor is shown on the map above?

______________________________2. From what you learned last year about the climate of CA, how do you think

this map has changed?__________________________________________________________

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3. What abiotic factor is shown on the

map above? _________________________________4. Where do you hypothesize there is the most vegetation in the United States?

_______________________________________________________________________5. What is your clue to answering question number 4?

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6. What abiotic factor is shown on the map above?___________________________________________________

7. Remembering that the sun moves across the southern half of the sky (in the northern

hemisphere), what can you hypothesize about the north-facing slopes?

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8. What abiotic factor is shown in the map above? (hint…it is not temperature)

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Abiotics in your CA Ocean Ecosystem

Read Me: Now is your chance to

determine the abiotic factors in

your ocean ecosystem.

You will add a page to your

“biotic” spreadsheet that will

keep your information

organized. You will create your

own spreadsheet columns

this time instead of me telling

you exactly what to do, because not every habitat will have the exact same abiotic factors. You will

want to consider the following things:

What do your plants/animals live in or on?

Do the plants/animals require a specific temperature? (if so, what?)

If they need water, how deep does it need to be?

If they live on rocks, what type of rock is it?

Are the rocks pebbles? Boulders? Large stones? Gravel?

How much light does your habitat get?

Instructions: Check off the following tasks once completed.

o Brainstorm what abiotics are in your habitat and write them in box below.

o Create a new spreadsheet page.

o Fill in your spreadsheet with information you have researched.

o Answer the following question in complete sentences.

Question:

1. What are some threats to the abiotics in your ecosystem? _____________________________________________

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