Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Ecosystems and food chains

CCSS NGSS.MS-LS2-1CCSS NGSS.SEP 4England: KS3 Biology: Relationships in an ecosystemEngland: GCSE Combined Science: Ecology

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Environments change: human impact

Leads to: Population growth and carrying capacity

Materials: Food web cards, Arrows to build chains, Mini whiteboards, A diagram or short video clip of the idea, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Environments change: human impact). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Does this help or harm wildlife: draining wetlands? (helps wildlife / harms wildlife) → harms wildlifePrompt: Does it make habitats bigger and cleaner, or smaller and dirtier?
Which is a natural change to an environment? (a volcano erupting / spraying pesticides / building a car park / building a dam) → a volcano eruptingPrompt: Which one is not caused by people?
Which action helps wildlife? (dumping plastic in the sea / cutting down rainforest / creating a nature reserve / spilling oil into rivers) → creating a nature reservePrompt: Think about what happens to habitats.

Hook · 5 min

Show a food web and ask what would happen if one animal disappeared.
Share the objective: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: an invasive species?
Step 1: Biotic factors come from other living things.
Step 2: So the answer is: biotic (living)
Answer: biotic (living)
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: a new predator? (abiotic (non-living) / biotic (living)) → biotic (living)Prompt: Does it come from a living organism?
Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 90 % → 9 70 % → 7 50 % → 5 30 % → 3 10 % → 1 Which conclusion do the data support? (Daisies grow best in the shade. / More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / The tree eats the daisies. / Light has no link with the number of daisies.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 8 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 1 30 % → 3 50 % → 5 70 % → 7 90 % → 9 Which conclusion do the data support? (More daisies grow where light intensity is higher. / The tree eats the daisies. / Daisies grow best in the shade. / The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.) → More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.Prompt: Look at how the number of daisies changes as light changes.
Grey squirrels were introduced to Britain and red squirrel numbers fell. What kind of factor are the grey squirrels for the red squirrels? (abiotic: temperature / not a factor at all / abiotic: soil pH / biotic: competition and disease) → biotic: competition and diseasePrompt: Are grey squirrels alive?

Watch out for

Everyday meanings of words getting in the way of the science meaning: define key words explicitly.
Remembering facts without the reason: ask "why?" and "what is the evidence?"

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Environments change: human impact.
Use concrete materials: food web cards.
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Population growth and carrying capacity.
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/science/grade-6.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

eurekami

Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

Name

Date

Score/ 8

1
Question 1
Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: competition for food?
- A. abiotic (non-living)
- B. biotic (living)
2
Question 2
Lichens grow less well near busy roads. Which abiotic factor is the likely cause?
- A. air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide
- B. the number of predators
- C. competition with trees
- D. a new disease
3
Question 3
Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 2 30 % → 6 50 % → 10 70 % → 14 90 % → 18 Which conclusion do the data support?
- A. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
- B. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
- C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
- D. The tree eats the daisies.
4
Question 4
Is this a biotic or an abiotic factor: amount of water?
- A. abiotic (non-living)
- B. biotic (living)
5
Question 5
Grey squirrels were introduced to Britain and red squirrel numbers fell. What kind of factor are the grey squirrels for the red squirrels?
- A. not a factor at all
- B. abiotic: temperature
- C. abiotic: soil pH
- D. biotic: competition and disease
6
Question 6
Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 10 % → 3 30 % → 6 50 % → 9 70 % → 12 90 % → 15 Which conclusion do the data support?
- A. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
- B. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
- C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
- D. The tree eats the daisies.
7
Question 7
Bee numbers fall in an area, and fewer apples form on the trees. Which factor has changed for the apple trees?
- A. no factor has changed
- B. an abiotic factor: soil pH
- C. a biotic factor: fewer pollinators
- D. an abiotic factor: day length
8
Question 8
Students placed quadrats in a line leading out from under a tree. Light intensity (% of full sunlight) → number of daisies: 90 % → 23 70 % → 18 50 % → 13 30 % → 8 10 % → 3 Which conclusion do the data support?
- A. The data prove that light is the only factor that matters.
- B. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
- C. Light has no link with the number of daisies.
- D. The tree eats the daisies.

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Answer key: Living and non-living factors in an ecosystem

1. B. biotic (living)
2. A. air pollution such as nitrogen dioxide
3. C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
4. A. abiotic (non-living)
5. D. biotic: competition and disease
6. C. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.
7. C. a biotic factor: fewer pollinators
8. B. More daisies grow where light intensity is higher.