Chapter 3

Relationships Among Living Things

Lesson 1

Ecosystems

Main Idea: Ecosystems are made up of living and nonliving things

What Makes up an Ecosystem?

Plants and animals live with one another. The depend on each other to stay alive. Together all the living and nonliving things in a place make up an ecosystem. Ecosystems can be as large as the planet Earth or as small as the space under a rock.

All the living things in a ecosystem make up a community. A community on the grasslands include the grass and trees, the zebras, gifaffes (my favorite animal) and all the other animals.

Each community is made up of populations. A population is all of one kind of organism. For example all the zebras in the grassland make up a population of zebras.

All populations need a habitat. A tree in a forest ecosystem is a habitat for bugs, birds and squirrels. A habitat is a living things home.

Lesson 2

Food Chains and Food Webs

Main Idea: Animals depend on plants for food.

What makes up a food chain?

What is food? Food is the material that organisms use to get energy.

All food comes from organisms called producers. Producers use energy from the sun, water and air to make food. Green plants and some one celled organisms are producers.

Animals are consumers. Consumers are organisms that eat producers. Together consumers and producers make up the food chain. Food chains start with producers, consumers eat those producers and then other consumers eat those consumers.

How are materials recycled?

What happens to a leaf that falls to the ground? Over time organisms break the leaf down and return it to the soil. Kind of like the garbage in Mrs. Allie's garden. These kind of organisms are called decomposers. A decomposer breaks down dead plant and animal material. Decomposers include bacteria. Bacteria are one-celled organisms. Some bacteria are bad and cause infections and disease. But without the good bacteria to break it down our earth would be covered with everything that ever died, ever! Decomposers include fungi. Mushrooms are fungi. Decomposers make things part of the soil again. Mold is also a decomposer.

Producers, consumers and decomposers work together to recycle things through and ecosystem.

What is a Food Web?

A food web is a bunch food chains that are connected by an organism. For example, corn grows in a field. We eat the corn and so does a racoon. A racoon and a human are in the same food web because they both eat corn, but a racoon doesn't eat a human, and a human generally doesn't eat a racoon.

Know your 'vores.

Carnivore: meat eater

Herbivore: plant eater

Omnivore: eats both

What is an energy Pyramid?

An energy pyramid is a diagram of how energy flows through a an ecosystem. The bottom level contains producers or plants followed by consumers that eat only plants. On the next level is animals that eat other animals and the top level contains Animals that are not eaten by other animals.

Chapter 1

Plants

Lesson 3

The Life Cycle of a Plant

 Main Idea Plants grow and reproduce in many ways

How does a Plant's Life Begin?

A seed begins a pea plant's life cycle. A life cycle is all the stages in an organisms's life. A plant begins life, grows, develops reproduces and they dies.

A seed is a tiny capsule that contains a plant embryo. An embryo is a young plant that is just beginning to grow. Each seed also contains food for the embryo. This food helps the embryo survive until it can make its own food. A tough outer case helps to protect the embryo.

Seeds do not always germinate. Germinate means to sprout or starts to grow. Seeds can wait months or even years until they germinate. They need the proper conditions to germinate. They need the correct temperatures, water and nutrients to germinate.

After the seed germinates it turns into a young plant called a seedling. A seedling looks like the parent plant. New plants look like their parents because of heredity. Heredity is the passing of characteristics from parent to offspring. Size, color and height are all characteristics that can be passed on to offspring.

How are seeds made?

Most plants make seeds. There are 2 main groups of plants that reproduce by making seeds. They are flowering plants and conifers. Flowering plants produce seeds in flowers. Most plants in the world are flowering plants. Conifers are trees that produce seeds in cones. Pine trees are conifers.

Flowering Plants

Flowering plants have male and female parts. The girl parts make eggs that become seeds. The boy parts make pollen. Pollen is a powdery material that is needed by the eggs to make seeds. To make seeds the pollen and the egg must come together. Birds, insects or the wind can bring pollen to the eggs. Many animals like the sugary liquid in flowers and drink it. When they do the pollen rubs off on their bodies and they carry it to another plant. If it gets on the egg pollination has occurred. Over time, flowers turn into fruits with seeds. A seed might grow into a new plant.

Conifers

Conifers make seeds in cones. Conifers are pine, spruce and hemlock trees. A pine tree makes 2 kinds of cones. I makes small pollen cones and large seed cones. Wind blows pollen from the small cones to the large cones. When pollen attaches to a large cones a seed is made. Seeds grow inside the large cones. When seeds are ripe, they drop to the ground. If conditions are right the seed will germinate and start to grow. Over time it May grow into a tree.

What other ways do plants reproduce?

Other ways that plants can reproduce are cuttings, spores, bulbs, and tubers.

A cutting is when you take a piece of the plant and stick it in water, usually a leaf. The leaf will grow roots and it can then be planted in dirt.

A bulb is an underground stem. Onions and tulips grow from bulbs.

A potato is a tuber. A tuber is also an underground stem.

Mosses and ferns use spores to reproduce. Spores are not as hardy as seeds. They do not have a food supply. When spores get light, water and nutrients they can grow into new plants.

Lesson 2

The Needs of Plants

Main Idea: All plants have the same basic needs

What are the Needs of Plants

Plants need sunlight, water and air to live. Plants also need minerals. A mineral is a naturally occurring substance that is neither plant or animal.

The parts of plants help them get what they need to survive. Roots are the parts of plants that take in water and minerals from the soil. They hold the plant in the ground.

The stem is the part of the plant that helps the plant stand upright. It also carries food from the leaves to the rest of the plant and water and minerals to the leaves so they can make food.

Some plants are simple and don't have real roots or stems. Mosses are simple plants. They form low growing mats in damp places that get water right from the soil. Tree trunks are also stems.

Why does a plant need leaves?

The leaves are the main food making part of the plant. Many leaves have broad flat surfaces that help them take in sunlight. Leaves are green because they have chlorophyll. Chlorophyll traps energy from the sun for the plant. The leaf has tiny holes on the bottom to take in the air for the plant. The leaf uses a gas in the air called carbon dioxide to help make it's food. The plant uses energy from the sun to combine carbon dioxide and water into food. The stem then carries this food to all parts of the plant. When the plant makes food it gives off oxygen that animals need to survive.

How do plants respond to their environment?

Plants grow toward sunlight. Some trees and shrubs drop their leaves as the days grow shorter and colder. Roots grow toward water. The ability of plants go respond to their environment helps the plant live, grow and meet their needs.

Lesson 1

How Living Things are Alike

Main Idea: All living things have common features

What are the features of Living things

An organism is a living thing. There are ways to tell a living thing from a non living thing.

LivingThings Grow and Change

A living thing grows. It gets bigger. An oak tree starts out as an acorn ang grows into a sapling and then into a young tree.

As organisms grow they also change. The way an organism changes during it's life is called development. That sapling changes as it grows. The branches and trunk thicker and it changes shape and color.

Living Things Reproduce

Reproduce means to make another living thing just like itself. Plants grow from seeds, puppies are born live and fish come from eggs.

New living things or offspring are not exact copies, but have some characteristics from both parents.

What are the features of Living Things?

All organisms live in an environment. An environment is made up of everything that surrounds an organism. It includes air, water, soil and other organisms.

Living Things Respond

When something in the environment changes an organism may respond. To respond means to react. Plants bend toward the light. In autumn the leaves change colors and fall off the trees. Bears eat lots of food as winter nears.

How do Living Things Communicate?

Most living things communicate, or share information. To communicate animals send,collect and respond to signals. A cuttlefish changes color and texture and this says it is looking for food. A firefly lights up to attract mates.

What are the smaller parts of living things?

All organisms are made of cells. Cells are the basic building blocks of life. Our bodies are made up of billions of cells. Plants and animal cells have many of the same parts. Both are filled with cytoplasm, a clear jellylike material. Both also have a cell membrane which is a thin outer covering that keeps it all together. Each cell also has a nucleus or control center of the cell. Cells are also different. Plant cells are usually larger and have a boxlike shape. Animal cells come in all shapes. A plant cell also has a cell wall. A cell wall is stiff layer outside the cell membrane. Animal cells don't have a cell wall. Plant cells also have chloroplasts. They are green and make food for the plant.