Content Outline for Teaching - Potosi School District - Home

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Section 1
Content Outline
for Teaching
What is an ecosystem?
Ecology
Underlined words and
phrases are to be filled
in by students on the
Note-taking Worksheet.
A. An ecosystem is made up organisms interacting with one another and with nonliving
factors to form a working unit.
1.Afrog eating an insect is an example of two living things interacting in an
ecosystem.
2. A frog using a stream as shelter is an example of an interaction between a living
thing and a nonliving part of an ecosystem.
B. Ecology is the study of the interactions that take place among the living organisms
and the nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
1. Ecologists spend a lot of time outdoors,observing ecosystems up close.
2. They also conduct experiments in laboratories.
C. The biosphere is the part of Earth where living things can live.
1. Ecosystems on Earth include:
a. deserts,
b. mountains,
c. rivers,
d. prairies,
e. wetlands,
f. forests,
g. plains,and
h. oceans.
2. The organisms that make up the living part of an ecosystem are called biotic
factors.
a. An organism depends on other biotic factors for food, shelter, protection,
and reproduction.
Ecology 68