1. ecosystem- All of the living and nonliving things that interact in an area

2. Organic matter- The remains of plants and animals

3. soil - The loose material made of rock, minerals, and organic matter that covers much of Earth’s surface

1.Nonliving parts of an ecosystem are water, soil, air, light, and temperature. 2.Plants need sunlight to make food. 3.Desert ecosystems are very dry and hot, while polar ecosystems have ice covering the land, low temperatures, and little sunlight. 4.Most plants grow well in soil that contains a lot of organic matter. Organic matter is rich in nutrients. 5.Plants and animals need air to carry out their life processes. 6.Nutrients are materials that help living things grow. 7.Each ecosystem has its own set of nonliving conditions. 8.Nonliving parts of ecosystems help living things meet their needs. A living thing can only survive when its needs are met.

4. prairie- A grassy area with few trees

2. environment- Everything that surrounds and affects a living thing

3. population- All the members of one kind of plant or animal in a community

5. rainforest- An area with warm temperatures all year and a lot of sunlight and rainfall

1. community- The living things in an ecosystem

6. Temperate zone- An area of Earth where the temperature rarely gets very hot or very cold

2. Animals feed on grasses and their seeds in a prairie ecosystem. 3. A forest ecosystem includes a large community of animals and trees. 4. Deer eat grasses and tree leaves in a forest ecosystem. The trees provide them with shelter and protection. 5. In the Florida Everglades ecosystem, most of the land is covered by water. It is home to algae, shrimp, fish, wading birds. 6. Organisms survive where the conditions best meet their needs. 7. Many kinds of plants and animals meet their needs in a temperate zone without special adaptations. 8. Beavers use trees for shelter in a forest ecosystem. 9. A terrarium is a model of an ecosystem.

1. consumer - An animal that gets energy by eating plants or other animals

2. producer - An organism that makes its own food

3. pollinator- An animal that helps plants make seeds

4. reproduction- The process of making more of one’s own kind

5. Seed dispersal- The scattering of seeds from the plant that produced them

1.Living things that depend on each other to meet their needs are interdependent. 2.Producers use energy from sunlight to make food. 3.Plants are producers. Consumers rely on plants or other animals for energy. When an animal eats a plant, energy transfers from the plant to the animal. 4.Some animals provide shelter for other animals. (Ex- Woodchucks digging tunnels that rabbits, foxes, and skunks live in.) 5.Insects and birds are pollinators because they help pollinate flowers. This helps plants reproduce by allowing them to make seeds.