FANTASTIC FIVE Coopertown Middle School

1. What is in an ecosystem?
1. Biotic factors are living things.
2. Abiotic factors are nonliving things.
3. Together the biotic and abiotic factors make up the forest ecosystem.
4. An ecosystem includes all of the living and the nonliving things in an environment.
5. The organisms in an ecosystem can be sorted into different populations.
6. A population includes all members of a single species in an area at a given time.
7. Together the many different populations make up a community.
8. A community includes all the living things (or populations) in an ecosystem.
9. A community not only includes all of the plants and animals living there, but also bacteria, protists, and fungi.
10. An ecosystem can be local or widespread.
11. It can be as large as an entire forest.
12. Or one fallen log in the middle of a forest can make up an ecosystem.
2. How are food chains alike?
1. The path that energy and nutrients follow in an ecosystem is called a food chain.
2. A food chain is a model of the food relationships that exist between organisms.
3. The arrows represent the flow of energy from one organism to another.
4. The arrows point to the belly organism that is doing the eating.
1. The caterpillar eats the flower.
2. The frog eats the caterpillar.
3. The snake eats the frog.
4. The owl eats the snake.
5. All energy in a food chain comes from the sun.
6. Producers are at the beginning of all food chains.
7. A producer is an organism that uses the sun’s energy to make its own food in the form of sugar or starch.
8. We can think of producers as plants. Algae is another example.
9. Producers use energy from the sun, along with water and carbon dioxide to make sugar molecules.
10. These sugar molecules are the original source of food for consumers.
11. A consumer is any animal that eats (or consumes) plants or other animals.
12. Animals that eat only producers (plants) are called herbivores.
1. Examples:
1. squirrels
2. some birds
3. grazing animals
13. Animals that eat other animals rather than producers are called carnivores.
1. Examples:
1. bobcats
2. hawks
14. Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
1. Examples of omnivores:
1. raccoons
2. mice
3. some crabs
15. Dead or decaying animals are broken down by decomposers.
1. Examples:
1. bacteria
2. fungi
3. termites
4. many worms
16. Consumers that eat the left over bodies of animals that have started to rot are called scavengers.
1. Examples:
1. vultures
2. eagles
3. raccoons
3. What are food webs made of?
1. In most food chains, a single organism is not eaten by only one consumer.
1. For Example: The insects in the food web can be eaten by either the frogs or the birds.
2. This makes the insects part of two food chains.
3. A food web is a network of food chains that have some links in common.
4. Food webs are just several food chains put together.
5. The arrows represent the flow of energy from one organism to another.
6. The arrows point to the belly of the organism doing the eating!
1. Both the owl AND the snake eat the frog.
2. The fox eats mice, squirrels, and rabbits.
7. The hawk in the food web hunts for food.
8. This makes the hawk a predator.
1. Predators are animals that hunt other animals for food.
9. Animals that are hunted for food are called prey.
1. The snake and the fish are examples of prey.
10. Predators are important in a food web.
11. They limit the size of prey populations.
12. When the number of prey animals are reduced, producers and other resources in an ecosystem are less likely to run out.
4. What are symbiotic relationships?
1. Living things interact with each other in many different ways.
2. Sometimes one organism hunts another. (predators–prey)
3. Relationships such as predators and prey are examples of interdependence.
4. Interdependence is the reliance of certain organisms on other organisms for their survival.
5. A relationship between two organisms that lasts over a period of time is called symbiosis.
6. A symbiotic relationship that benefits both organisms is called mutualism.
1. Examples:
1. yucca tree and the yucca moth
2. ants and the acacia tree
7. Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship that benefits one organism without harming the other.
1. Examples:
1. ray and remoras
2. orchids and rain forest trees
3. clownfish and anemones
8. A symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits while the other is harmed is called parasitism.
1. Examples:
1. tapeworms
2. ticks
3. lamprey

1. What is Photosynthesis?
1. All living things need energy to survive.
2. Animals eat food to get energy.
3. Plants make their own food.
4. Where do plants get energy to make food?
5. The SUN
6. Plants use the energy from the sun to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis.
7. Photosynthesis occurs in cells that have chloroplasts.
8. We know that plant cells contain chloroplasts.
9. Sunlight + water + carbon dioxide + chlorophyll = food (sugar or starch) and oxygen
10. Energy for photosynthesis comes from the sun.
11. Sugars made by the leaf go into the leaf's veins and then to all parts of the plant.
12. The oxygen made by the plant is released into the air.
2. What do leaves do?
1. The leaves of a plant carry on photosynthesis.
2. The roots absorb water and carry it up to the leaves through the xylem.
3. The carbon dioxide plants need for photosynthesis enters the plant from the air through tiny holes in the bottom of the leaf called stomata.
4. A single hole is called a stoma.
5. The job of opening and closing the stomata is done by guard cells located on each side of the stoma.
6. The guard cells open and close the stomata in response to the amount of water and light the plant receives.
7. When a plant has too little water, guard cells will close the stomata to preserve water.
8. When a plant has plenty of water, guard cells will swell and open stomata, allowing water and air to leave the plant.
9. The epidermis is the outermost part of the leaf.
10. The top of the leaf surface has a waxy cuticle, a waterproof layer that prevents moisture from evaporating.
11. Sugars that are produced during photosynthesis are transported to the rest of the plant through a type of tissue called phloem.
12. Scientists express what happens during photosynthesis with the following chemical equation:
    6CO2 + 6H2O + energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2
3. What is the photosynthesis and respiration cycle?
1. All living things need energy to carry out their life processes.
2. The photosynthesis and respiration cycle provides energy to plants and animals.
3. The sugar that plants produce during photosynthesis is a carbohydrate.
4. Carbohydrate is the name for substances made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
5. Simple carbohydrates can be stored as food or modified to make structural materials.
6. When plants store sugar, they usually store it as starch.
7. The cell walls of plant cells are made of cellulose.
8. Starch and cellulose are complex carbohydrates made of thousands of simple sugar units.
9. Animals depend on photosynthesis as their source of energy.
10. When animals eat plants, it takes in stored carbohydrates from the plant.
11. When animals are carnivores and eat other animals, they are taking in carbohydrates that animals gained from eating a plant in the first place.
12. Some of the oxygen produced during photosynthesis is breathed in by animals during respiration.
13. Some of the oxygen is used by plants.
14. When plants or animals need energy, they can get it from stored carbohydrates.
15. The energy stored in carbohydrates is released when cells use oxygen to break down the sugars in a process called cellular respiration.
16. Cellular respiration and photosynthesis can be thought of as opposites.
17. During cellular respiration, plant and animal cells produce carbon dioxide and water, which are then released back into the air.
18. During photosynthesis, plants use the carbon dioxide along with water to produce sugars.
4. What are energy pyramids?
1. About 10% of the sun’s actual energy gets turned into food energy by a producer.
2. An energy pyramid shows the amount of energy available at each level of an ecosystem.
3. The bottom of the pyramid represents the producers.
4. It is the largest level because it contains the most organisms and therefore the most energy.
5. There are fewer numbers of organisms and less available energy at each ascending level of the pyramid.
6. When a producer is eaten, only about 10% of the food energy it contains gets turned into herbivore or omnivore tissue.
7. The rest is used or turned into heat energy.

CELLS

1. What are cells?
1. A cell is an organism is a living thing made of the same tiny building blocks called cells.
2. Cells are the smallest unit of living things that can carry out the basic processes of life.
3. Cells come from other cells dividing or splitting into other cells.
4. Unicellular, or one-celled, organisms are made up of a single cell that carries out its life processes.
1. Life processes include growing, getting food, reproducing, and responding to the environment.
5. Cells that have many cells are called multicellular.
6. Multicellular organisms include frogs, trees, and YOU!
7. In multicellular organisms, each cell has its own job to do.
8. Cells of multicellular organisms work together to take care of different functions of the organism.
1. Example: Heart muscle cells work together to keep your heart beating.
9. Scientist have identified more than 1 ½ million different kinds of organisms.
10. They estimate that there are more than 1 billion kinds of unicellular organisms.
2. What is inside an animal cell?
1. All organisms are made of cells.
2. Your body has more than 200 different kinds of cells.
3. Plant and animal cells have several basic structures, called organelles, to help them perform life processes.
4. Animal Cell Organelles
1. Cell Membrane
2. Cytoplasm
3. Nucleus
4. Mitochondria
5. Vacuoles
5. Cell Membrane
1. Flexible wrapping surrounding animal cells
2. Gives the cell shape
3. Controls what materials move into and out of the cell
4. Only certain material are able to enter and leave the cell
6. Cytoplasm
1. Gel-like liquid that fills cells
2. Made of mostly water
3. A variety of organelles float in the cytoplasm
4. Supports cell's structures
5. Constantly moves like a stream
6. Some cell life processes take place in the cytoplasm
7. Nucleus
1. Cell's control center - the BOSS!
2. Large, round organelle
3. Usually in the center of the cell
4. Has a membrane with pores, or openings, to allow certain materials to pass in or out
5. Sends signals to all other parts of the cell with instructions
8. Mitochondria
1. Oval, membrane-covered organelle
2. Supplies energy for the cell
3. Tiny power plant
4. Break down food, which releases energy for the cell
5. Some cells use more energy than others
6. Cells requiring more energy usually have many mitochondria
9. Vacuole
1. Used for storage
2. Stores water, food, and wastes
3. Nucleus can signal the vacuole to release whatever it is storing
4. Some animal cells have small vacuoles
5. Some animal cells may not have any vacuoles
3. What is inside the plant cell?
1. Plant cells
1. have many of the same organelles as animal cells.
2. often have a box-like shape
3. are often a bit larger than animal cells
4. have additional organelles that animal cells do not have
2. Plant cell organelles
1. Nucleus
2. Cell membrane
3. Vacuole
4. Cytoplasm
5. Mitochondria
6. Chloroplast
7. Cell wall
3. Cell wall
1. Additional outer covering, outside the cell membrane
2. Stiff structure
3. Provides strength and extra support
4. Vacuole
1. Unlike animal cells, plants usually have one LARGE central vacuole.
2. Stores excess water to keep the plant from drying out
3. Releases extra water when the plant needs it
4. Provides extra support
5. Chloroplast
1. Plants make their own food inside chloroplasts
2. Green structure
3. Energy from the sunlight is used to produce food for the plant inside the chloroplast
4. Plants are green because they contain a green chemical, chlorophyll
5. Chlorophyll is able to use the energy in sunlight to make food
6. Plants that do not have chloroplasts (with the green chemical chlorophyll) are not green.
7. Chloroplasts are mainly found in the cells of leaves and stems of plants.
4. How are cells organized?
1. Unicellular organisms - have only one cell that performs all life processes.
2. Multicellular organisms - contains many different types of cells that have specific functions.
3. Similar cells working together at the same job, or function, form a tissue.
4. A group of tissues that work together to perform a special function form an organ.
5. Organs that work together to perform a certain function make up an organ system.
6. All of the cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems form an organism.

Click on Cell Structures. View the video. Then, click on "Learn More About Cell Structures." Finally, take the quiz. If you do not know the answers, watch the quiz again.

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