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A pond, a forest and a farm hold living and non-living things. They depend on each other. Living things are called biotic. Non-living things are called abiotic.

What this track covers

• Living and non-living together. Biotic and abiotic parts make an ecosystem.
• One kind, or all kinds. A population is one kind. A community is all the kinds.
• Where the food starts. Producers make food, and consumers eat it.
• Along the chain. Who eats whom, and at which level.
• Chains join into a web. Many eaters have several foods.
• The crew that puts it back. Decomposers break down dead things.
• Pull one link. One change affects the others.
• People are in the picture. People change links too.
• Water, land and farms. Aquatic (water), terrestrial (land) and human-made ecosystems.
• Living together. Competition, mutualism, commensalism and parasitism.

See Chapter 12, How Nature Works in Harmony.

Quick catch-up

• Class 6: a habitat is the place where a living thing lives.
• Class 7: plants make food from light, water and carbon dioxide.

Safety

Every bench here is a simulation. Visit a real pond or forest only with your teacher. Never catch or touch animals.