Chapter 2: Ecosystem

“For the achievers, by the achievers”

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Mr Shum

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Interdependence among living organism and the environment

o Species is a group of organism with similar _____________ and can

interbreed to produce __________
o A group of organism of the same species is called as a ___________
o A species natural living place is called a _________
o Populations of different animals and plants living together in a
habitat are called as a ___________
o Several communities that interact with each other and with the
non-living environment are called as an ____________

Interaction between living organisms to create a balance

ecosystem

Living things interact with each other and non-living things to survive
This lead to a balance in the ecosystem

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

 Chapter 2: Ecosystem

For example:
Plants will use sunlight, carbon dioxide and
mineral to produce food through
__________________
Simultaneously, animals also get oxygen
released from plants and produce _______
__________ needed for photosynthesis
Animals cannot produce food, hence they
will eat plants or other animals in order to
survive
Plants depend on non-living components
such as water or wind or living components
such as insects for pollination
Decomposers such as _______________
will break down dead organism to return
the mineral back to the soil

Interaction among living organism

Living things interact with each other to obtain food, shelter and other
necessities
There are three different kinds of interaction in nature
a) Prey-predator
b) Competition
c) Symbiosis

Prey-predator
A predator is an organism that kills and eats another organism
A prey is an organism that is eaten
A predator usually has large size and special charateristics such as sharp
claws, fangs or beaks to kill its prey
Predators are carnivorous whereas the preys can be either herbivores or
carnivores
Eg: A tiger (predator) eats a deer (prey)
An eagle (predator) eats a rabbit (prey)

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Competition
Competition occurs when organism compete for the same basic _______
Plants compete to obtain water, sunlight, minerals and living space
Animals compete to obtain water, food, living space and mates for
reproduction
Eg: Two bears fight over a territory to obtain food

Competition among same species is called as ____________ competition

Competition among different species is called as __________ competition
Eg: Lioness and hyenas fighting each other for food

In interspecies competition, only the stronger species will thrive and the
weaker one will gradually be eliminated
“Survival of the fittest”
Eg:

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Symbiosis
Symbiosis is the interaction between two organism of different species
that stay in the same place. There are three types of symbiosis which are:
a) Commensalism
b) Mutualism
c) Parasitism

Commensalism
Interaction between two organism in which one will get benefit whereas
the other is no affected (not harmed or benefit)
Eg: Remora fish and sharks
Remora fish attaches itself to a shark for transport, protection and food
without harming the shark.
Staghorn fern and trees
Staghorn fern lives on tall trees to obtain sunlight without harming the
tree

Mutualism
Interaction between two organism in which both organisms benefit from
the relationship
Eg: Oxpecker and Ox
Oxpecker eats and frees the ox from any ticks or leeches
Aphids and ants
Ants provide protection to aphids whereas aphids will give nutrition rich
food

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Parasitism
Interaction between two organism in which one organism benefits
whereas the other organism (host) is harmed or negatively affected
Eg: Tapeworm and human
Tapeworm (parasite) will suck nutrition from our body (host) and we will
eventually get malnourished from that
Rafflesia and host tree
Rafflesia (parasite) will absorb nutrients from nearby tree (host)

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)

Chapter 2: Ecosystem

Road to Science A Practices

1. The diagram below shows three types of interaction among living
organism.

P Q R

a) Name the interaction. (3m)

P: _______________________________
Q: _______________________________
R: _______________________________
b) Give another example for the interaction stated above. (3m)
P: _______________________________
Q: _______________________________
R: _______________________________
c) In a oil palm plantation, a student finds many different kind of
organism includes owls, rats and snakes. When he examines the soil
under the microscope, he can see a lot microorganisms.
i) What does the oil palm tree contribute to the balance of the
ecosystem. (1m)
__________________________________________________________
ii) How does the bacteria contribute to the balance of the ecosystem
above? (1m)
__________________________________________________________

Prepared by: Mr Shum (019-4915886)