Every nature show is really about one thing: living things meeting each other and the world around them. That is exactly what your exam is about. So this reviewer is a five-episode season, one episode for each topic on your pointers, in the same order.
Each episode has a host cue card (the memory trick), cards to tap, and a short check. Finish an episode and its tally light turns red. Then watch the Season Finale: a full practice exam in the same two test types as the real one.
The camera dives into a coral reef. Fish dart past the coral, and sunlight filters through the sea water. Which of those are alive, and which are not?
An ecosystem is a community in which living things and nonliving things interact. It can be as large as a rainforest or as small as a flowerpot, and everything in it plays an important role. A coral reef is one example.
| Biotic factors (living) | Abiotic factors (nonliving) |
|---|---|
| microorganisms (like bacteria) | sunlight |
| plants | temperature |
| animals | air |
| humans | soil |
| water |
Biotic factors interact with one another and with their environment. Plants produce food, while humans and animals depend on them for nourishment. Animals also eat other organisms in order to grow, move and reproduce. Any change in the abiotic factors may affect the existence, population, reproduction and distribution of organisms.
A heron snaps up a fish. An orchid clings to a tree. A tick sucks blood from a dog. Same forest, three very different deals. Who wins in each one?
Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with one another and with their environment. Organisms depend on each other for survival, and this helps keep the ecosystem balanced. When one factor changes, it can affect all the other parts.
Symbiosis is a close and long-term interaction between two different species living in the same environment. There are three types.
| Type | Score | Examples from your book |
|---|---|---|
| Mutualism both benefit | + + | Flowers give butterflies nectar; butterflies pollinate the flowers. The sea anemone gets leftover food and a free ride; the crab gets protection from the stinging tentacles. Shepherds get wool; sheep stay cool after shearing. |
| Commensalism one benefits, the other is not affected | + 0 | Orchids on tall tree trunks for anchorage and sunlight. Tree frogs hiding among a tree’s leaves. Farmers milking cows or collecting eggs without harming them. (Quiz 1: barnacles on a whale.) |
| Parasitism one benefits, the other is harmed | + − | Ticks on a dog (itchiness, scabies). Lice on a child’s scalp. Tapeworms in a child’s intestine (malnutrition). |
In parasitism, the one that benefits is the parasite and the one that is harmed is the host.
Predation is the act of hunting, killing and feeding on other organisms. The stronger, usually larger animal is the predator; the weaker, smaller animal is the prey. Snakes, owls, tigers and herons prey on rabbits, mice, deer and small fish, in that order.
When two or more organisms compete for a limited resource such as space, shelter, food or water, there is competition. A pride of lions will be aggressive toward cheetahs and hyenas because they share the same diet. Lions also show territorial behavior to protect their hunting area. Some organisms find adaptive ways to coexist: giraffes eat the leaves of tall trees, so they can live with zebras, which eat the shorter plants.
A flower never moves, but its energy ends up inside a snake, a crow and a mushroom. How did it travel that far?
A food chain shows a simple path of how an animal gets food and how energy and nutrients pass from one organism to the next. Food chains that connect to other food chains form a food web. In a food web, animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food.
The colors stay off until you finish the role game below.
In the sample web, energy from the flower goes to the butterfly and grasshopper. The frog eats them and gains their energy. The frog is eaten by the snake or owl. When the snake dies, its remains are eaten by the crow. Finally, fungi break down what remains and return the nutrients to the soil.
The sun is the primary source of energy. As energy passes from one organism to the next, much of it is used for movement and other body functions, or lost as heat. Only about 10% is passed to the next level.
| Role | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Producers | Make their own food (glucose) by photosynthesis, using sunlight, carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil. Every food web starts with them. | flowering plants, fruit-bearing trees, grass |
| Primary consumers | Herbivores; eat plants only. Get only 10% of the energy from the sun. | butterfly, grasshopper, goats, carabaos, green sea turtles, dugongs |
| Secondary consumers | Carnivores or omnivores that eat other consumers. Get about 1%. | frogs, mice, lizards, small fishes, jellyfish |
| Tertiary consumers | Apex predators at the top; no natural predators. Get about 0.1%. They keep populations below them in balance. | eagles, snakes, sharks, crocodiles, humans |
| Scavengers | Eat dead organisms or leftover carcasses instead of hunting. Tear apart remains, making decomposition easier and preventing disease. | crows, vultures, crabs, houseflies, ants |
| Decomposers | Break down dead plants, animals and waste, returning nutrients to the soil for plants. Return a small amount of energy to the ecosystem. | fungi (mushrooms), earthworms, bacteria |
Pick the role of each organism in your book’s food web, then tap CHECK. 8 points.
One tree falls. Then a bird loses its nest, the soil washes away, and a town floods. How can one change knock over a whole ecosystem?
Every biotic and abiotic factor can, on purpose or by accident, change the balance in an ecosystem. Removal of, damage to, or change in one factor can cause a domino effect in the whole ecosystem and the survival of many living organisms.
| Kind | What it does |
|---|---|
| Water | Contaminated water is unsafe to drink and can kill fish, turtles and frogs. Trash in the water can clog drainage and cause flooding. |
| Soil | Polluted soil becomes toxic and loses important nutrients. Plants may not grow well, and the animals that depend on them may leave or die. |
| Air | Harmful gases such as carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide cause breathing disorders and lung infections. Dust and dirt can cover plant leaves, making it difficult for them to produce food and oxygen. |
One more thing about warmer temperatures: pests such as fruit flies, aphids, grasshoppers and whiteflies may reproduce faster. They damage crops and reduce food supplies for humans and animals.
Every nature show ends the same way: the host looks at the camera and asks you to help. What exactly can a Grade 6 pupil do?
As humans, we can help protect and maintain balanced ecosystems by making choices every day.
| Way | What you do |
|---|---|
| Protect producers and their habitats | Join tree-planting and urban gardening. Grow more trees, vegetables and native plants. Help create green spaces in school gardens and community gardens. |
| Keep the abiotic factors clean | Keep water, air and soil clean for all living things. Support organic and sustainable farming. Join community cleanup drives and avoid burning trash to reduce pollution. |
| Protect the wildlife | Do not buy or keep wild animals as pets; taking them from their habitats harms the food web. Support wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas that help preserve endangered species. |
| Encourage others to act | Be a leader, an influencer and a role model. Create posters, reports or videos about protecting ecosystems and share them on school websites or bulletin boards. |
| Join celebrations | Earth Day and Arbor Day: tree planting, environmental fairs, youth-led campaigns. |
Two parts, the same as your pointers: Multiple Choice, then Modified True or False. 50 points, all five episodes mixed the way the real test will mix them.
Choose the letter of the correct answer. 30 points.
Tap TRUE if the statement is correct. If it is false, tap FALSE and type the word that should replace the underlined word to make the statement right, just like Quiz 1, Part I.B. A false item counts only with the right replacement. 20 points.
Screenshot this for Mama or Papa. Then run it again in two or three days; the second run is the one that makes it stick.
Habitat Hour · Science 6, 2nd Term · made for Cara