1. EKS 3 Driving Question
How do organisms interact with each other and their surrounding environment?

2. EKS 3: Intro to Ecology Vocabulary
Ecology is the study of the interactions among living things, and between living things and their surroundings.
Why we should care about ecology: Countless choices that humans make on a regular basis largely impact other organisms and our community as a whole. Many of these choices ultimately have the power to alter the environment on a global scale. The future lies in our hands…for better or worse.

3. 6 Organs and organ systems
A Hierarchy of Biological Organization
The hierarchy of life extends through many levels of biological organization
The World
8 Cells
6 Organs and organ systems
7 Tissues
10 Molecules
9 Organelles
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms

4. 6 Organs and organ systems
We are starting with the big stuff.
The World
8 Cells
6 Organs and organ systems
7 Tissues
10 Molecules
9 Organelles
Ecosystems
Communities
Populations
Organisms

5. EKS 3 Intro Vocab An organism is an individual living thing.
Example: Jason Derulo is an example of an organism. Note that he is ridin’ solo. He is not currently interacting with other organisms.

6. Population
A population is a group of the same species that lives in the same area.
Example: In the photo, Jason Derulo is now part of a population of humans, assuming that they all live near the awards show.
Note: When Jason travels around the world and don’t speak the language, he may be moving from population to population.

7. Ecological Community
A community is a group of DIFFERENT organisms that all live in the same area (and potentially interact).

8. Ecosystem
An ecosystem includes all of the living things (biotic factors) in a given area, as well as the climate, soil, water, rocks and other nonliving things (abiotic factors).

9. Biome
A biome is a major regional or global community of organisms characterized by the climate conditions and plant communities that thrive there. Examples= desert, mountains, tundra

10. After reading the slides, draw and complete a chart that looks like this:
Level of Organization
Definition in your own words (that you understand!)
Drawing of an example
POPULATION
COMMUNITY
ECOSYSTEM
BIOME