1. Ecosystem Terms Please copy these terms and definitions in your science notebook.

2. 1.Ecosystem: a community that includes all the living things found in a certain area and how they relate to each other

3. 2.Ecology: the science concerned with the relationships among living things and the environment

4. 3.Organism: a living thing Organism or NOT?

5. 4.Environment: everything that surrounds an organism to live

6. 5.Population: all the organisms of the same kind living in an environment

7. 6.Habitat: a place that is natural for an organism to live

8. 7.Aquarium: water-filled glass or plastic container where aquatic organisms can live and be observed

9. 8.Terrarium: a closed glass or plastic container where terrestrial organisms can live and be observed

10. 9.Aquatic: lives in water Which organisms are NOT aquatic?

11. 10.Terrestrial: related to land; lives on land Which organism is NOT terrestrial?

12. Ecosystem Terms Please copy these terms and definitions in your science notebook.

13. 11. Biodiversity: the amount of different types of life in an ecosystem

14. 12. System: a number of objects that move or work together as a whole

15. 13. Biotic: the living parts of a system

16. 14. Abiotic: the non-living parts of a system

17. 15. Adapt: to change in order to fit a new situation or use

18. 16. Germination: the process by which seeds swell up and begin to sprout and develop roots

19. 17. Consumer: an organism that feeds on other organisms or organic matter; cannot produce own food Consumer

20. 18. Producer: an organism that can make its own food through the process of photosynthesis

21. 19. Decomposer: an organism that breaks down tissues of dead organisms; scavengers and fungi are examples

22. 20. Scavenger: an animal that feeds on other dead animals

23. More Ecosystem Terms Please copy these terms and definitions in your science notebook.

24. 21. Respiration: the process by which an organism takes in and processes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide 22. Variable: an element in an experiment that can be changed

25. 23. Constant: a condition that is not changed in an experiment 24. Niche: the role an organism plays in their habitat 25. Sediment: small pieces of rock, plant and animal material that are carried by water, wind or ice

26. 26. Embryo: the first stage of development in an organism 27. Stable: steady, balanced 28. Controlled Experiment: a scientific investigation in which one variable is changed and all the others are kept the same or constant