👩🏽🏫 Introduction
Hello, eco-explorer! 🌱🦁🌍
Have you ever wondered how animals, plants, soil, and even sunlight work together like a team? That’s what an ecosystem is all about. It’s nature’s way of balancing life. In this lesson, you’ll discover what ecosystems are, how they’re structured, and why every single part—including YOU—matters!
📘 Core Concepts
🔹 What is an Ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a community of living things (plants and animals) interacting with non-living things (soil, water, air, sunlight) in a particular area.
It’s like a natural system where all the parts—both living and non-living—depend on each other.
🔹 Types of Ecosystems
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Natural Ecosystems | Form without human help | Forests, oceans, rivers, deserts |
| Artificial Ecosystems | Created/managed by humans | Farmlands, aquariums, city parks |
🔹 Components of an Ecosystem
Ecosystems have two main types of components:
1. Biotic Components (Living)
🌿 Producers: Green plants that make their own food through photosynthesis
🐇 Consumers: Animals that eat plants or other animals
Primary consumers (herbivores)
Secondary/tertiary consumers (carnivores, omnivores)
🍄 Decomposers: Organisms like fungi and bacteria that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil
2. Abiotic Components (Non-living)
☀️ Sunlight
💧 Water
🪨 Soil
🌬️ Air
🌡️ Temperature
These factors affect where organisms live and how they grow.
🔹 Ecological Factors
These are the things that influence an ecosystem.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Biotic factors | Predators, food availability, competition |
| Abiotic factors | Rainfall, sunlight, pH, temperature, slope of land |
Some tools used to measure abiotic factors:
Thermometer (temperature)
Rain gauge (rainfall)
Light meter (light intensity)
pH meter (soil acidity)
🧠 Why It Matters
Ecosystems:
🧬 Support biodiversity
🍽️ Provide food, water, and shelter for life
♻️ Recycle nutrients and purify air and water
🌎 Help balance the climate and prevent natural disasters
Destroying one part of an ecosystem can affect everything else.
🧪 Real-Life Example
A Pond Ecosystem
In a pond:
Plants like algae and lilies are producers
Fish and frogs are consumers
Microorganisms in the mud are decomposers
Sunlight, water, and mud are abiotic components
All these elements interact to keep the pond alive and healthy.
🧩 Sample Problem Walkthrough
🧠 Problem:
A forest has trees, birds, insects, rocks, soil, and streams. Identify 2 biotic and 2 abiotic components of this ecosystem.
✅ Step-by-Step Solution:
Biotic: Trees, birds
Abiotic: Rocks, water (stream)
✔️ Answer: Biotic: trees and birds; Abiotic: rocks and water
✍🏽 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blanks
(a) Plants that make their own food are called ______.
(b) Temperature and rainfall are examples of ______ factors.
Answers:
(a) producers
(b) abiotic
2. Match the Component to Its Role
| Component | Role |
|---|---|
| (i) Fungi | A. Producer |
| (ii) Goat | B. Consumer |
| (iii) Sunlight | C. Abiotic |
| (iv) Algae | D. Decomposer |
Answers:
(i) → D, (ii) → B, (iii) → C, (iv) → A
3. Short Answer
Why are decomposers important in an ecosystem?
Sample Answer: Because they break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil, which helps plants grow.
🌀 Recap
An ecosystem is a system of living and non-living things working together
Components include biotic (plants, animals, decomposers) and abiotic (sunlight, soil, air)
Ecosystems can be natural or artificial
Every part of the ecosystem is connected—changing one affects the others
💭 Reflection Prompt
Think about your school, a park, or a garden. What are three biotic and three abiotic components you can observe there? List or sketch them in your science journal.
