Communities: Interdependence, Competition and Abiotic Factors · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Living and non-living factors in a community

Science · Organisms & Life Processes · ages 14-15
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What is an ecological community?

    • One herd of one species
    • All the populations of all species in one area
    • Only the predators in a forest

  2. Which pair lists only abiotic factors?

    • Sunlight and soil
    • Grass and rabbits
    • Fungus and bacteria

  3. Fungi give a plant water and nutrients while the plant gives the fungi sugars. What interaction is this?

    • Parasitism
    • Mutualism
    • Competition

  4. Why does the Karner blue butterfly need wild lupine nearby?

    • Females lay eggs only on lupine and caterpillars eat only lupine
    • Lupine flowers scare away its predators
    • Lupine makes the soil colder

  5. Two bird species eat the same scarce seeds. One species leaves the island. What happens next?

    • The remaining species always leaves too
    • The seeds vanish at once
    • The remaining species usually grows

  6. Sort these into the abiotic group: sunlight, rabbit, soil, fungus. Which two are abiotic?

    • Rabbit and fungus
    • Sunlight and soil
    • Sunlight and rabbit

  7. A student explains a thinning forest by naming only hungry deer. What is missing?

    • The Latin names of the deer
    • A count of every single deer
    • The non-living conditions, like soil and rain

  8. Two species compete for scarce nesting sites. Removing one species will always harm the other.

    Circle one:   True   False

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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Living and non-living factors in a community W1-mt_su-CNKV8hK-s1

  1. All the populations of all species in one area · A community counts every species living together in one area.
  2. Sunlight and soil · Sunlight and soil are non-living, so both are abiotic.
  3. Mutualism · Both partners gain, which is the mark of mutualism.
  4. Females lay eggs only on lupine and caterpillars eat only lupine · Its whole early life depends on that one plant.
  5. The remaining species usually grows · With its competitor gone, the remaining species keeps more of the seeds.
  6. Sunlight and soil · Sunlight and soil are non-living, while rabbit and fungus are living.
  7. The non-living conditions, like soil and rain · Rain and soil decide the plants, which decide the animals, so both kinds belong.
  8. False · Competitors each do better when the other is gone, so the rest usually grow.
Worksheet · LightMySky