Ecosystem

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ecosystem

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the ecosystem services?The benefits that humans derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions
2. How does energy move through an ecosystem?Energy starts with the sun and is captured by plants. Plants give energy to animals that eat them, and each step loses some energy.
3. Why are forests more diverse than deserts?Forests have many layers of trees and plants, which create many homes for animals and plants, so they hold more species than the flat, dry desert.

Autotrophs: Organisms capable of synthesizing their own food from inorganic substances, typically using light or chemical energy.
Heterotrophs: Organisms that cannot produce their own food and must obtain energy by consuming other organisms.
Ecological Niche: The role and position a species has in its environment, including how it meets its needs for food and shelter, how it survives, and how it reproduces.
Biodiversity: The variety of life in the world or in a particular habitat or ecosystem, encompassing genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.