This document discusses ecosystems and their components. It defines a system as a group of parts that work together, and notes that most systems are open systems that take in inputs from outside. It explains that an ecosystem is a group of living things and their environment. Key parts of ecosystems include populations (groups of the same species), communities (all populations in an area), habitats (an organism's environment), and niches (an organism's role). Food chains and webs show how organisms fulfill different roles as producers, consumers, and decomposers within an ecosystem.

1. ECOSYSTEMS
Science
Unit B
Chapter 1

2. A system is a group of parts that
work together as a unit.
OPEN SYSTEMS
Most systems are
open systems. They
take in things from
outside the system.
For example, a
terrarium takes in
energy from the sun.
Why do plants need
the sun’s energy?
CLOSED
SYSTEMS
Very few systems are
truly closed. Most
systems receive
inputs and give off
outputs.
A diver in a
submarine is in an
almost completely
closed system.

3. Explain if these systems
are open or closed.
An aquarium
a forest
a sports team
your family
an astronaunt on the Space Shuttle
an automobile

4. Stability
Stability comes from the word stable. The suffix
“ity” forms nouns from adjectives and means
“the condition or quality of”.
Stability in systems means that over time the
changes in a system cancel each other out. For
example if something is added, it is later taken
out.
The system must remain in balance.
How does the grass in your yard remain stable?

5. Predict how this tool would help
keep your yard stable.
What are the inputs in
a yard system?
What are the outputs
in a yard system?
A system that is in
balance is said to
have what?

6. Ecosystems
Groups of living things
and the environment they
live in make up an
ecosystem.
Some ecosystems
include forests, ponds,
and streams.
Explain how some
organisms can live in
different ecosystems.

7. TYPES OF ECOSYSTEMS
POPULATIONS
A group of the same
species living in the
same place at the
same time is a
population.
Populations live in
environments to
which they are
adapted.
COMMUNITIES
A community of an
ecosystem is made
up of all the
populations that live
in the same area.
The plants and
animals that live
together depend on
each other to survive.

8. ACTIVITY
Organize charts that
compare how your
needs are met in your
community to how
plants’ and animals’
needs are met in their
community.

9. ANALYZE THIS!
Sometimes plants and animals are
introduced into ecosystems that are not
native to the ecosystem.
Can you name a plant or animal that lives
in an ecosystem that you are familiar with
and is not native to that ecosystem?
Predict what might happen if an animal
from the jungle were introduced into a
forest ecosystem.

10. NONLIVING PARTS OF AN
ECOSYSTEM
SUNLIGHT
AIR
TEMPERATURE
SOIL
WATER

11. LIVING THINGS IN
ECOSYSTEMS
HABITATS
The environment that
meets the needs of
an organism is called
a habitat.
Read the book “A
House is a House for
Me” and discuss the
different habitats
listed.
NICHES
A niche is an
organism’s role or job
in the environment.
Name an organism
from the forest
environment and
describe its niche in
that environment.

12. LIVING THINGS
F o o d C h a in
P r o d u c e r s
G r e e n p la n t s a n d
s o m e p r o t is t s
p r o d u c e t h e ir o w n fo o d .
C o n s u m e r s
e a t o t h e r liv in g
t h in g s
fo r e n e r g y .
D e c o m p o s e r s
fe e d o n w a s t e s o f
p la n t s a n d a n im a ls o r
o n t h e ir r e m a in s a ft e r t h e y d ie .
N ic h e s
o r
R o le s

13. SUMMARY
An environment that meets the needs of
an organism is called a habitat.
An organism’s niche is its role within that
habitat.
As organisms carry out their roles, they
can affect both living and nonliving parts
of that ecosystem.