Unit 1 Science

What is an ecosystem?

A community of living organisms (plants, animals, microbes) interacting with each other and their physical environment (soil, water, air, sunlight).

What is a niche?

The specific role an organism plays within its ecosystem, affecting how it interacts with other organisms and its environment.

What are producers?

Organisms that create their own food using energy from sunlight or chemical energy (e.g., plants through photosynthesis).

What are consumers?

Organisms that obtain energy by eating other organisms (producers or other consumers).

What is conservation?

Practices and methods that ensure the protection and preservation of natural resources and ecosystems for future generations.

What is biodiversity?

The variety of life in a particular habitat or ecosystem; includes genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity.

What are some major human impacts on ecosystems?

Activities such as deforestation, pollution, and overhunting, which can disrupt ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, and deplete natural resources.

What is a food chain?

A sequence of organisms through which energy and nutrients move in an ecosystem; energy flows from producers to consumers.

What is a food web?

An interconnected network of food chains within an ecosystem, representing the complex feeding relationships among organisms.

What are decomposers?

Organisms that break down dead plant and animal material, returning nutrients to the soil.