An ecosystem is made up of all the living organisms in a place, interacting with each other and their non-living surroundings.

All organisms within an ecosystem are interdependent because they depend upon each other for the things they need to survive.

A producer is an organism that makes its own food.

Cellular respiration is a chemical process where food is used as a fuel to provide energy for life processes.

A decomposer is an organism that feeds on the remains of other living organisms.

Interdependence within ecosystems

Science

Pyramids of number

Pyramids of biomass

Plants are adapted for their environment

Animals are adapted for their environment

Ecological sampling of living organisms

Ecological sampling using a quadrat

Conserving biodiversity

Pupils will learn about biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem, measuring population size, interdependence and competition in ecosystems, how changes in biotic and abiotic factors affect communities, the cycling of carbon and water, and the role of microorganisms in cycling materials through ecosystems.

Pupils learnt about interdependence in ecosystems, covering food webs and food chains along with predator-prey relationships. The effect of the use of pesticides on organisms such as pollinating insects and top predators through bioaccumulation.

This unit examines environmental changes and their impact on species' survival and adaptation, potentially leading to extinction. It also develops skills for interpreting data and observations, evaluating errors, and using SI units and IUPAC chemical nomenclature in scientific contexts.

Biodiversity

A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain diagram.

A pyramid of number is a diagram which shows the total number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain diagram.

An animal that only eats plants (producers) is called a herbivore.

An animal that eats other animals (consumers) is called a carnivore.

An animal that eats both plants (producers) and other animals (consumers) is called an omnivore.

Biomass is the mass of living material in one or more organisms.

A pyramid of biomass is a diagram which shows the biological mass (biomass) of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain diagram.

A pyramid of numbers is a diagram which shows the total number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain diagram.

Biodiversity is the range of different living species that live in a place.

An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place.

Extinction is the permanent loss of a species.

Conservation is the process of protecting biodiversity and the environment.

A quadrat is a square frame which is used to sample populations of plants or slow-moving animals.

A pooter is a piece of equipment used to suck up and sample small animals.

Mark-release-recapture is a way that is used to estimate the number of individuals in a population.

A pitfall trap is used to sample small ground living animals.

Sampling is a survey of plants and/or animals which provides information about the populations of organisms.

A species is a group of organisms that are able to reproduce with each other to produce offspring that are also able to reproduce.

Bias is when a person carries out an investigation and affects the outcome

Biodiversity is the range of different living organisms (species) that live in a place.

A gene bank is a store of genetic material for future use. For example, collections of seeds, or stores of plant and animal cells.

Genetic material is made of a chemical substance called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

The gene pool is the range of DNA in a species. The larger the gene pool, the more easily species can adapt to changes to their habitat.

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