Ecology Chapter

Teacher Sheet

Activity #3: Biotic vs. Abiotic Factors

California Content Standards

Objectives:

To determine student's prior knowledge of the environment and introduce the concept of biotic
factors and abiotic factors in an environment and their effect on other organisms living within
an environment.

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Time:

This activity will require one 55-minute class period.

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Background:

Although students are generally aware of the term "environment,” some students may not be
able to articulate what an organism's environment is composed of. Since both biotic and abi-
otic factors affect the health and well-being of every organism within an environment, it is
important for students to understand the difference between the two, and to realize the role
these factors play in the health of an environment and the organisms who live there.

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Materials:

Students need to have a notebook or journal. The teacher should have an overhead and a
whiteboard to write down and organize students' responses.

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Procedure:

1. Begin by asking students "What exactly do we mean by an ‘environment’?" Accept all stu-
dent responses and write them on the overhead.

2. Tell students to think about the environment of the Tijuana Estuary. Ask students to name
all of the things that make up this environment. For some classes, it may be best to call on
each student in the class and ask them to name one thing in the environment. Continue sur-
veying the class until each student has participated, and the students can't think of anything
else. Write down each response.

3. Remind students that "bio" means life, as in biology, which means the study of life.
Remind students that, in science, to put an "a" in front of a word means "without," so abiotic
means without life. Tell students that everything in an environment can be put into one of two
classifications - either things that are, or were, alive (biotic), and things that never were alive
(abiotic).

4. Tell the students they are going to determine whether each item on the list they made is
biotic or abiotic. Ask for two student volunteers to write these lists on the overhead.

5. Begin at the top of the list of things the students named as part of the environment, and
have the students determine whether each item on the list is biotic or abiotic. As they make
their decisions, the volunteer writes the word on the whiteboard. When the list is finished,
there will be two lists on the whiteboard - a list of the biotic elements in the environment, and
a list of the abiotic elements in the environment.

6. As the lists are generated, the students should write each factor in the appropriate column
of the Student Sheet.

7. Beginning with either list, ask the students how each item in the list might affect other
organisms living in the environment. Write their responses on the overhead, and students
write the responses on the Student Sheet. Continue with the other list.

8. Have the students draw 4 rows of 4 boxes - 16 boxes in all - and place the 16 most impor-
tant factors in the boxes, one in each box. They should then draw arrows between the boxes
to indicate interactions between the factors.

8. Ask the students to write a short summary of the differences between biotic factors and
abiotic factors, and their affects on organisms living within the Tijuana Estuary.

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 Ecology Chapter
Student Sheet

Activity #3: Biotic vs Abiotic Factors

PURPOSE:

You will be deciding which factors in an environment, such as the Tijuana Estuary, are biotic
or abiotic factors.

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INTRODUCTION:

There are many different types of environments, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra,
ocean beaches, and, of course, estuaries. Each type of environment contains a number of
different factors that interact with each other. For instance, a forest environment has large
trees with smaller bushes, some grasses, rivers, ponds, insects, many different types of small
and large animals, soil with organic matter in it, and usually abundant rainfall. In contrast, a
desert environment has cactus, small plants, lizards, snakes, smaller animals, sandy and/or
rocky soil, and low yearly rainfall.

The way all of the factors in an environment interact determines which organisms can live in
that environment. For instance, an alligator, which needs a lot of water to live in, would have
a hard time living in a desert that doesn't have much water. Ferns need shade and moist soil
to live, and would die in the hot, dry, sunny desert. Polar bears have thick fur coats to keep
warm in the cold, snowy arctic and would have a difficult time if they lived in a hot, humid
tropical environment.

In this activity, you are going to list all of the environmental factors of the Tijuana Estuary that
you can think of, and then determine how those factors interact with each other.

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MATERIALS:

A copy of the student sheet and a notebook or journal.

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PROCEDURE:

1. What do we mean when we talk about an "environment?" In your notebook, write down all
of the things that comes to mind when you think of an "environment." Be prepared to con-
tribute your ideas to a class discussion.

2. Think about the environment of the Tijuana Estuary. In your notebook, write down all of the
factors that make up the Tijuana Estuary environment.

3. As your class determines which factors are biotic and which are abiotic, write each one on
your copy of the Student Sheet..

4. As your class decides how each factor on your sheet affects other organisms in the envi-
ronment, write their decision on your sheet.

5. On a piece of paper or in your notebook, draw 4 rows of 4 boxes - 16 boxes in all. Decide
which factors are the most important to the Tijuana Estuary, and write one factor in each box.
Be sure to include both biotic and abiotic factors. Draw arrows from box to box to indicate
how the factors affect each other.

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 STUDENT SHEET
BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS OF THE TIJUANA ESTUARY

Biotic Factors Affect on organisms

Abiotic Factors Affect on organisms

In your own words, define biotic and abiotic factors:

Biotic
Factors_____________________________________________________________________

Abiotic
Factors_____________________________________________________________________

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