Goals

• Knowing what the terms population, community, and ecosystem mean.
• Understanding that organisms have adapted to their ecosystems.
• Knowing how plants produce energy and oxygen for their ecosystems.

Summary

• The individuals of a single species form a population. The individuals of a population inhabit the same area and are able to reproduce with each other.
• The different populations of a certain area form the area's organism community.
• Ecosystem = abiotic (non-living) environment + living organisms. For example, a lake that contains plants, fishes, and insects is an ecosystem.
• Plants act as producers in the ecosystem: they use the process of photosynthesis to produce energy and oxygen.
• Key words: individual, population, community, ecosystem, adaptation, photosynthesis.