Source: Pond in Texas, East Texas Land

Look at the picture above. It is of a pond in east Texas. What abiotic and biotic factors do you see in the picture?

An abiotic, or nonliving, factor shown is the water in the pond. The biotic, or living, factors shown are the tree, shrubs, and grasses. What about the fish living in the pond? The fish, algae, frogs, insects, etc. living in the pond are also biotic factors. Is there anything else living in the pond?

Watch the following video to see the variety of microscopic life living in the pond water.

In the lesson titled “What is Life?” you learned eight characteristics of living things. One of those characteristics is the following:

What exactly is a cell and how were cells discovered?