Biology Marking Period 3 Practice Test

Abiotic factors are nonliving parts of the environment that limit where and how organisms can live, such as temperature, moisture, light, pH, and salinity. Because they are nonliving, these factors shape the conditions under which metabolism, growth, and reproduction can occur. That’s why the statement describes abiotic limiting factors as nonliving. In contrast, living components—plants, animals, microbes—and their interactions are biotic factors, and predators are active, living parts of the ecosystem, not abiotic.