Key Idea: In all environments, individual organisms that depend on the same resource may compete for that resource when it is limited. Resources that can be limited include food, space, water, shelter, and light.
Students are expected to know that:
- Organisms that depend on the same resource compete for that resource when it is limited.
- Resources that can be limited for animals include food, space, water, and shelter (including nesting sites).
- Resources that can be limited for plants include space, water, and light.
- Both plants and animals compete for resources.
- Competition may be between individuals of the same species or between individuals of different species.
- The scientific use of the term “competition” refers to the attempt of different organisms to obtain the same limited resource, whether or not the organisms interact with each other. In other words, competition for resources does not necessarily imply direct confrontation between organisms, and sometimes competition involves finding or using the resource first.
Boundaries:
- Students are not expected to know which resources can be limited for other organisms besides animals and plants.
- Students are not expected to know that animals compete for light in some instances.
| Item ID Number |
Knowledge Being Assessed | Grades 6–8 |
Grades 9–12 |
Select This Item for My Item Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
80% |
87% |
|
||
67% |
77% |
|
||
65% |
77% |
|
||
65% |
72% |
|
||
61% |
74% |
|
||
Both plants and animals compete for resources when they are limited. | 56% |
69% |
|
|
Plants compete for water, space, and light when those resources are limited. | 54% |
64% |
|
|
58% |
66% |
|
||
Competition between animals does not always involve direct confrontation (fighting). | 37% |
49% |
|
Misconception |
Student Misconception |
Grades |
Grades |
|---|---|---|---|
63% |
51% | ||
Plants do not compete for resources (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 31% |
20% | |
15% |
11% | ||
10% |
12% | ||
Different kinds of organisms (species) do not compete for resources (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 10% |
8% | |
Animals do not compete for resources (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 11% |
7% | |
Animals do not compete for shelter (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 10% |
8% | |
7% |
4% | ||
7% |
4% |
Frequency of selecting a misconception was calculated by dividing the total number of times a misconception was chosen by the number of times it could have been chosen, averaged over the number of students answering the questions within this particular idea.