Download Ecosystems Vocabulary

a group of living and nonliving things that are
found together in nature
 different ecosystems that will be learned
about through the unit:
 forest ecosystem
 tropical rain forest ecosystem
 desert ecosystem
 grassland ecosystem
 tundra ecosystem
The process that plants use to make food.
 Green plants use sunlight, water, and carbon
dioxide from the air to make their own food.
Plants or other living things that make their
own food.
Living things that eat other living things.
Such as:
 Animals that eat plants
 Animals that eat other animals
living things that break down wastes and
dead living things.
Examples:
 Earthworms
 Fungi
 Bacteria
Tiny one-celled living things.
Bacteria is a decomposer that breaks things
down into nutrients.
Substances needed for life.
Nutrients work in a cycle.
 Nutrients are in soil and help plants to grow.
 Animals eat plants to get nutrients to live.
 Animals die and their nutrients decompose into the
soil.
Shedding leaves at the end of the growing
season.
Examples of deciduous trees:
 Oak
 Hickory
 Maple
 Birch
A green substance found in green plants.
 Chlorophyll is found in leaves and is what
causes them to be green.
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List the nonfiction features you notice on the
article and explain the purpose of each.
For example:
The title “Amazing Apes” tells us the topic of
the article.
To grow or develop well.

Often used to describe plants. (thriving)
Changes from a liquid into a gas.

Hot water evaporates into steam.
The gas form of a substance that is usually a
solid or liquid.

Clouds fill with water vapor.
A type of tree with thin needles instead of
leaves.
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Often has cones which protect its seeds from
cold weather.
Also called softwoods and evergreens.
Green all year round
Mammals that have large front teeth.
Rodents:
 Mice
 Rats
 Squirrels
 Nutria
 Beavers
To begin to grow, to sprout
The heating of the Earth due to carbon
dioxide buildup in the gases around it.
A mound of sand or dirt formed by the wind

Usually found in the desert or beach
In an inactive state, alive but not growing.
Examples:
 A volcano that is not erupting
 A bear that is hibernating
Neither too hot or too cold, mild.

Temperate is often used to describe a
climate, or weather.
at risk of extinction.

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Endangered animals are at risk of no longer
existing.
Animals often become endangered because
of a change in their ecosystem, or from being
hunted.
A flat, treeless region in the arctic where the
subsoil is always frozen.
Soft, wet area near water that cannot
support the weight of a heavy body.

Can also be called a swamp or marsh.
To move to another area during a season.
Many types of birds migrate south for the
winter because they can’t live in the cold.
 Ducks
 Geese
Coloring that hides an animal.

Many animals have fur with a pattern or the
same color as their surroundings to help them
blend in.