Understand the TEKS An ecosystem has many habitats. An ecosystem is a place where living and nonliving things interact. An organism is any living thing. Plants, animals, and algae are examples of organisms. A population is a group of the same kind of living things that live in the same place at the same time. A community is a group of plants and animals that live in a certain area and depend on one another. A habitat is the place where an animal or plant lives. Guided Instruction Read the following information and answer the questions. The living and nonliving things that interact in an area make up an ecosystem. An ocean and everything in it is an example of an ecosystem. Some living things in an ocean ecosystem are seaweed, sharks, dolphins, and fish. These living things are organisms. Some nonliving things in an ocean ecosystem are sunlight, air, water, and rocks. A group of the same kind of organisms that live in the same place is a population. For example, all the gray squirrels that live in the same forest are a population. All the populations of different animals in a forest form a community. The specific place where a plant or animal lives is called a habitat. The habitat for a prairie dog or jackrabbit might be an underground burrow. A habitat for a desert rattlesnake might be under a rock. Populations of rattlesnakes, rabbits, prairie dogs, and cacti live in different habitats found in the same desert ecosystem. Another ecosystem is the arctic tundra. The tundra is very different from the desert, but some of the nonliving things are the same. They both have air, sunlight, water, Words to Know ecosystem organism population community habitat TEKS 3.9(A) Observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem. How Do Plants and Animals Survive? Lesson 12 prairie dog rattlesnake jackrabbit MasteryEducation.com Copying is illegal. Unit 4 • What Is an Ecosystem? 87 SAMPLE
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Understand the TEKS
An ecosystem has many habitats.
An ecosystem is a place where living and nonliving things interact.
An organism is any living thing. Plants, animals, and algae are examples of organisms.
A population is a group of the same kind of living things that live in the same place at the same time.
A community is a group of plants and animals that live in a certain area and depend on one another.
A habitat is the place where an animal or plant lives.
Guided Instruction
Read the following information and answer the questions.The living and nonliving things that interact in an area make up an ecosystem. An
ocean and everything in it is an example of an ecosystem. Some living things in an ocean ecosystem are seaweed, sharks, dolphins, and fish. These living things are organisms. Some nonliving things in an ocean ecosystem are sunlight, air, water, and rocks.
A group of the same kind of organisms that live in the same place is a population. For example, all the gray squirrels that live in the same forest are a population. All the populations of different animals in a forest form a community.
The specific place where a plant or animal lives is called a habitat. The habitat for a prairie dog or jackrabbit might be an underground burrow. A habitat for a desert rattlesnake might be under a rock. Populations of rattlesnakes, rabbits, prairie dogs, and cacti live in different habitats found in the same desert ecosystem.
Another ecosystem is the arctic tundra. The tundra is very different from the desert, but some of the nonliving things are the same. They both have air, sunlight, water,
Words to Knowecosystemorganismpopulationcommunityhabitat
TEKS 3.9(A) Observe and describe the physical characteristics of environments and how they support populations and communities of plants and animals within an ecosystem.
How Do Plants and Animals Survive?Lesson12
prairie dog
rattlesnake
jackrabbit
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and rocks. The desert ecosystem has sandy soil, and the tundra ecosystem has ice and snow much of the year.
snowy owlsnowy owl
cariboucaribousealseal
arctic wolfarctic wolf
polar bearpolar bear
red foxred fox
Both ecosystems have communities of animals that each have their own habitat. What is the habitat for the seal? What is the habitat for the wolf?
Look at the chart below. It shows some ecosystems and habitats within the ecosystems. It also lists some of the living things that live in the habitats.
Ecosystems Some Habitats Examples of Organisms
Tropical rain forest Tops of trees, branches of trees, logs, forest floor, underground burrows
Orchid, sloth, macaw, spider monkey, jaguar
Desert On the sand, under rocks, underground burrows
Cactus, snake, scorpion, jackrabbit, bat, desert toad
Grassland Under leaves, in tall grass, underground burrows
