Part of GED® Science: Life Science
GED® Science: Ecosystems & Energy Flow (Deep Dive)
A deep dive into how living things interact and how energy moves through nature, expanding the single 'Ecosystems & Energy Flow' lesson from the GED® Life Science course into a full mini-course. You'll learn the living and nonliving parts of ecosystems, trace energy through food chains and webs, see why energy shrinks at each step (the 10% rule), follow how matter cycles through the carbon cycle, explore population limits and carrying capacity, and study the relationships and disruptions that shape ecosystems. Plain language, all-new labeled diagrams, common-misconception warnings, and GED®-style practice with full explanations throughout.
📚 Course Curriculum
An ecosystem is all the living things in an area together with the nonliving things they interact with. The living parts are biotic factors — …
Open trial session →Almost all of an ecosystem's energy starts as sunlight. From there it flows from one organism to the next, and every organism has a role …
Open trial session →Energy doesn't pass perfectly from one level to the next — most of it is lost along the way. An energy pyramid shows how the …
Open trial session →While energy flows one way and is lost as heat, matter is recycled — the same atoms of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and water are used …
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Populations don't grow forever. When resources are plentiful, a population can grow quickly — but it eventually runs into limits and levels off. [[figure:carrying_capacity_graph A …
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Species interact in close, long-term relationships called symbiosis, and these come in three types. [[figure:symbiosis_types Mutualism helps both species; commensalism helps one and doesn't affect …
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Course Syllabus
This self-paced GED® Science course follows a 6-lesson sequence. Work through the modules in order so that each skill supports the next.
Course sequence
Module 1 - Lessons 1-3
- What Makes an Ecosystem?
- Energy Flow: Food Chains & Webs
- The Energy Pyramid & the 10% Rule
Module 2 - Lessons 4-6
- Cycling of Matter: The Carbon Cycle
- Populations: Growth & Carrying Capacity
- Relationships, Disruptions & Reading Ecology Data
Practice and completion
- Use worked examples and lesson practice to check understanding after each module.
- Review incorrect answers, explain the correction, and repeat weak skills.
- Complete the available mixed or final course practice to demonstrate readiness.
Course Outcomes
By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
- Explain the key scientific ideas and vocabulary in What Makes an Ecosystem?.
- Interpret observations, data, models, or evidence related to Energy Flow: Food Chains & Webs.
- Apply scientific reasoning to questions involving The Energy Pyramid & the 10% Rule.
- Evaluate explanations and identify common errors about Populations: Growth & Carrying Capacity.
- Connect Relationships, Disruptions & Reading Ecology Data with other course concepts in mixed practice.
- Use feedback and answer explanations to diagnose and correct mistakes.
- Complete mixed, exam-style practice with clearer reasoning and greater independence.
📝 Practice Questions
30 interactive questions with instant feedback and explanations.
Enroll for free to unlock the full practice bank after the trial sessions.