Look at these charts.
LEVEL | DEFINITION | EXAMPLE |
---|---|---|
Biosphere | The portion of the Earth and atmosphere where life exists | The air, water, and terrestrial areas where life can exist; biomes plus atmosphere |
Ecosystem | The living things in an area, along with their environment | The seashore including all the animals, plants, algae as well as the wind, minerals/rocks, water and weather |
Community | All of the populations that live in a defined area | All the animals, plants, fungi and bacteria that live together in a forest |
Population | A group of individuals in the same species within a defined area | Squirrels in your neighborhood, algae growing in a test tube |
Organism | A living thing (may be unicellular- see cell) | Blue Whale, Mushroom, Pine Tree |
Organ System | A group of organs that work together to perform a function | Circulatory System, Nervous System |
Organ | A group of different tissues that work together to perform a function | Heart, Brain, Kidney, Skin |
Tissue | A group of cells that perform a similar function | Muscle tissue, Blood |
Cells | The basic unit of structure and function in living things | Muscle cell, E.coli bacterium |
Organelle | One of many cell structures that have a specialized function | Nucleus, ribosome, mitochondria, chloroplasts |
Macromolecule | A large, complex molecule; essential molecule for life’s processes/structures | Carbohydrates, Proteins |
Molecule | Different atoms that are chemically bonded together | Water, Carbon Dioxide |
Atom | Basic unit of matter; building blocks of molecules | Carbon, Hydrogen, or Oxygen atoms are common in living things |
(charts source)