What is an abiotic factor?

What is an abiotic factor?

• A. Non-living factors of an environment that affect living organisms (water, temperature, etc.)
• B. Living factors of an environment that affect living organisms
• C. The process by which energy flows through an ecosystem
• D. A sequence of changes in community composition over time

Answer: (A)

Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of an environment that influence how organisms live and survive. These include temperature, water availability, light, soil conditions, pH, salinity, and wind—factors that shape metabolic rates, growth, and where species can thrive. This is the best choice because it accurately defines abiotic factors as non-living components that affect living organisms, with examples like water and temperature. In contrast, living factors (biotic factors) refer to other organisms, energy flow through ecosystems describes how energy moves rather than what the environment is made of, and ecological succession is the process of community change over time.

Abiotic factors are the non-living parts of an environment that influence how organisms live and survive. These include temperature, water availability, light, soil conditions, pH, salinity, and wind—factors that shape metabolic rates, growth, and where species can thrive. This is the best choice because it accurately defines abiotic factors as non-living components that affect living organisms, with examples like water and temperature. In contrast, living factors (biotic factors) refer to other organisms, energy flow through ecosystems describes how energy moves rather than what the environment is made of, and ecological succession is the process of community change over time.