Educational worksheet comparing abiotic and biotic factors using a Venn diagram and real-world examples.

Let’s go step by step to solve this worksheet.

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Step 1: Define abiotic and biotic factors

- Abiotic factor = non-living parts of an ecosystem (like water, rocks, temperature, sunlight).
- Biotic factor = living or once-living things in an ecosystem (like plants, animals, fungi, bacteria).

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Step 2: Sort the list into Abiotic, Biotic, or Both (center)

We’ll go through each item:

#### Abiotic (non-living):
- Clouds → made of water vapor, not alive
- Glass → man-made, non-living
- Paper → made from trees but processed, now non-living material
- Water → non-living
- Desert → a place/environment, mostly non-living features (sand, heat)
- Plastic → man-made, non-living
- Tundra → biome/environment, mostly abiotic features (cold, soil, wind)
- Dirt → soil, non-living (though it may contain living things, dirt itself is abiotic)
- Rocks → non-living
- Sand → non-living
- Oxygen → gas, non-living
- Gold → mineral, non-living
- Temperature → measurement, non-living
- Savanna → biome/environment, mostly abiotic features (grassland climate, soil)

Wait — let’s be careful. Some items like “Desert”, “Tundra”, “Savanna” are ecosystems that include BOTH biotic and abiotic factors. So they might go in the center? But the instruction says: “In the center place what contains both biotic and abiotic factors.” So if something is an entire ecosystem or environment that includes both, put it in the center.

But looking at the list again — most of these are individual items. Let’s re-sort carefully.

Actually, let’s think simpler for a student level:

✔ Abiotic (non-living):
Clouds, Glass, Paper, Water, Plastic, Rocks, Sand, Oxygen, Gold, Temperature, Dirt

✔ Biotic (living or once-living):
Whale, Snail, Steak (from cow), Athletes Foot (fungus), Tree, Grass, Mold, Hair (from animal), Mushroom, Grapes, Coral (animal), Salad (plants)

Wait — “Salad” is made of plants → biotic
“Steak” is meat → was part of a living animal → biotic
“Athletes Foot” is a fungus → biotic
“Coral” is an animal → biotic
“Mold” and “Mushroom” are fungi → biotic
“Hair” comes from animals → biotic
“Grapes” are fruit from plants → biotic

Now, what about “Ocean”? Ocean is water + life → contains both → goes in center?
Similarly, “Desert”, “Tundra”, “Savanna” — these are biomes that include both living and non-living things → so they go in the center.

Also, “Paper” — made from trees (biotic origin) but now processed and non-living → usually classified as abiotic in ecology worksheets unless specified.

Same with “Plastic” — man-made, abiotic.

So final sorting:

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Venn Diagram Sorting:

Abiotic Only:
Clouds, Glass, Paper, Water, Plastic, Rocks, Sand, Oxygen, Gold, Temperature, Dirt

Biotic Only:
Whale, Snail, Steak, Athletes Foot, Tree, Grass, Mold, Hair, Mushroom, Grapes, Coral, Salad

Both (Center):
Ocean, Desert, Tundra, Savanna

*(Note: Some teachers might argue “Dirt” has microbes, but for school level, dirt = abiotic. Same with “Ocean” — it’s water (abiotic) plus fish/plants (biotic), so it belongs in center.)*

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Step 3: Comprehending Section

We need to label bolded words as (A) for abiotic or (B) for biotic.

#### Question 1:
> All of the rocks (_) are removed from a desert ecosystem, what would happen to the population of rock dwelling lizards (_) and in turn the animals which eat them.

- Rocks → non-living → A
- Lizards → living animals → B

Answer:
Rocks (A), lizards (B)

What happens? If rocks are removed, lizards lose their homes/shelter → lizard population decreases → animals that eat lizards also decrease because less food.

#### Question 2:
> A ten mile area of trees (_) is removed from the tropical rainforest. How will this affect the amount of water (_) and the amount of oxygen (_) in the area?

- Trees → living → B
- Water → non-living → A
- Oxygen → non-living → A

Answer:
Trees (B), water (A), oxygen (A)

What happens?
Removing trees means:
- Less transpiration → less water vapor in air → possibly less rainfall locally
- Less photosynthesis → less oxygen produced → oxygen levels drop over time

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Final Answers:

#### Definitions:
- Abiotic factor: Non-living parts of an ecosystem (e.g., water, rocks, temperature).
- Biotic factor: Living or once-living parts of an ecosystem (e.g., plants, animals, fungi).

#### Venn Diagram:

Abiotic:
Clouds, Glass, Paper, Water, Plastic, Rocks, Sand, Oxygen, Gold, Temperature, Dirt

Biotic:
Whale, Snail, Steak, Athletes Foot, Tree, Grass, Mold, Hair, Mushroom, Grapes, Coral, Salad

Both (Center):
Ocean, Desert, Tundra, Savanna

#### Comprehending:

1. rocks (A), lizards (B)
→ Removing rocks hurts lizards’ shelter → fewer lizards → predators have less food.

2. trees (B), water (A), oxygen (A)
→ Removing trees reduces water cycle activity and oxygen production.

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Final Answer:

Definitions:
- Abiotic factor: Non-living parts of an ecosystem.
- Biotic factor: Living or once-living parts of an ecosystem.

Venn Diagram:
Abiotic: Clouds, Glass, Paper, Water, Plastic, Rocks, Sand, Oxygen, Gold, Temperature, Dirt
Biotic: Whale, Snail, Steak, Athletes Foot, Tree, Grass, Mold, Hair, Mushroom, Grapes, Coral, Salad
Both: Ocean, Desert, Tundra, Savanna

Comprehending:
1. rocks (A), lizards (B)
2. trees (B), water (A), oxygen (A)