1. Vocabulary of Instruction:
7th Grade
Unit 2:
Ecosystems
Lesson 2:
Vocabulary of Instruction:

2. Abiotic Inanimate, inorganic, not living. Examples: Water Soil
Sunlight
Rocks
Wind/Air

3. Adaptation
Changes in an organism's physiological structure or function or habits that allow it to survive in new surroundings.

4. Biome
Is the largest ecological unit. It consists of a group of related ecosystems that share some kinds of special plant life and weather patterns.
Aquatic Biome
Ocean Biome
Grassland Biome

5. Biosphere
Areas of the earth where life exists.

6. Biotic Relating to, produced by, or caused by living organisms.
Examples:
Rabbit
Wolf
Bacteria
Plants/Grass
Mushroom/ Fungi

7. Community
All the organisms that live in a given habitat and affect one another as part of the food web or through their various influences on the physical environment.

8. Ecosystem
Is the network of the interactions between organisms and their environment, and has both living and nonliving components.
Lake Ecosystem
River Ecosystem

9. Marine Ecosystem

10. Habitat
Is the set of physical and environmental conditions that determines where an organism or group of organisms can live most comfortably; factors include climate, amount of rainfall, and amount of sunlight.

11. Population
Is a group of organisms of the same species that live together.

12. Species
Is a group of organisms that have common ancestors, and are made up of one or more populations.