Fall Semester Review

2013
 Biodiversity
• What is biodiversity?
Biodiversity is the variety of life in an
ecosystem.
• Variety in species
• Of species
• Of ecosystems
What makes and ecosystem more
stable?
More Links in the food chain
If something wipes out
one particular species
it doesn’t cause the
ecosystem to collapse.
 What is sustainability?
• It is the ability of an ecosystem to continue to
flourish despite stress. It is able to maintain
its structure and function over time.
•
• High biodiversity= high sustainability
• Low biodiversity= Low sustainability
 Why biodiversity is important
• Biodiversity provides stability in and
ecosystem
• It provides a variety of food sources
• It provides a variety of habitats
• It creates and an environment that is less
susceptible to disaster or disease
More Biodiversity = More Sustainability
More Links = More Stable
More Different Types = Healthier Ecosystem
 10A observe and describe how different environments,
including microhabitats in schoolyards and biomes,
support different varieties of organisms

• Microhabitats and Biomes

• Why do they support different organisms?
– Because the abiotic factors vary for each one
– What are the most important abiotic factors?
• Water and Temperature
• Each environment leads to organisms with
different types of adaptations to survive
– Examples?
 Biomes
A biome is a group of ecosystems with
similar climates that cover a large section of
land.
Different biomes support different types of
organisms.
There are 6 major
biomes see your notebook
For more details.
 Tropical Rain Forest
– Found in warm regions close to equator
– Lots of rain, sun and heat
– Scientists have discovered over 300 different kinds
of trees in a 100 meter square
 Adaptations
An adaptation is a characteristic that an
organism has that allows it to be able to
survive. Organisms that live in the different
biomes have adaptations for the climate of
that biome.
Ex. Waxy leaves on cacti- dry climate
Polar bear blubber- cold climate
Falling leaves- changing climate
 Click here to

Desert Adaptations
see more deser
t plants and a
nimals
Plants Animals
• Low to the ground • burrow
• Thick, waxy leaves store • Nocturnal
water (succulants) • Inactive during the day
• Thorns for protection
• Specialized photosynthesis
Prairie Grassland
Climate: Moderate temperatures and intermediate
rainfall (more than desert but less than deciduous
forest)
Can be short and tall grasses
Few trees
Large part of the United States Including parts of
Texas
 Click here to

Prairie Adaptations
see more prair
ie plants and
animals

Plants Animals
• Small leaves • Burrow
• Widespread deep roots • Nocturnal
• bulbs • Camoflauge
• • grazers
•
 Organic Compounds
• Things that are made up of carbon
and other elements such as
nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus,
sulfur or hydrogen. “CHONPS”
• Examples: carbohydrates, fats,
proteins, nucleic acids (DNA)- all
of which are found in the human
body.
 Describe the stages of primary succession.

• Bare rock (no life exists) weathering of rock

• Lichen and moss help weather rock
• Soil is formed
• Grasses and weeds
• Small shrubs and trees and smaller plants
begin to die out
• Trees reach maturity
• Climax community
•
 Describe the stages of secondary succession.

• A disturbance occurs leaving bare soil

• Grasses and weeds
• Small shrubs and trees and smaller plants
begin to die out
• Trees reach maturity
• Climax community
 What is the ultimate goal of succession in an ecosystem

To reach equilibrium (climax community)

 8A predict and describe how different types of
catastrophic events impact ecosystems such as floods,
hurricanes, or tornadoes

• What are the natural disasters we discussed?

• How do floods impact ecosystems?
• How do hurricanes impact ecosystems?
• How do tornadoes impact ecosystems?
•
Increase weathering/erosion!
Change Earth’s Crust
Displace animals, damage habitats!
 5A recognize that radiant energy is transformed into
chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis

• Photosynthesis:
– The process of PLANTS
transforming radiant
energy from the sun into
glucose (chemical energy)
–
–
•
– 6H2O + 6CO2 + sunlightC6H12O6 + 602
–
 How energy flows through
ecosystems
•Comes in as sunlight
•Leaves as heat
•Passed along food chains from producer to
consumer
•DOES NOT CYCLE!!

Sun Food Chain Heat

As energy moves up in the pyramid the organism uses
90% of what it receives for life processes and heat
energy and gives 10% to the next level consumer.
This energy is measured in calories or joules.
 Energy Pyramid 10%rule
• An energy pyramid shows the amount of
available energy at feeding levels in an
ecosystem.
• From one level to the next only 10% is
available for the next organisms use 90%
is used for growth and some escapes as
heat
• In an ecosystem producers have the most
energy Those at the top have the least
amount of energy available to them.
• The producers in an ecosystem have the
largest population size and the
populations decrease as you move up the
pyramid
 Autotrophs vs. heterotrophs
Heterotrophs are consumers
Autotrophs are producers and
make their own food through the
process of photosynthesis

What do all of these organisms have in

common?
 5C diagram the flow of energy through living systems, with food
chains, food webs, and energy pyramid

• Food Chain
• Food Web
• Energy Pyramid
5B demonstrate and explain the cycling of matter within living
systems such as in the decay of biomass in a compost bin

Nutrient Cycle

From our exploration of food

we saw that decomposers pl
important role in returning n
 DECOMPOSERS Are…
Fungi, bacteria, or mold that break
down dead biomass and returns
nutrients (C,H,O,N,P,S) to the soil
to be used again by plants.
Decomposes cycle matter, not
energy!!
 Composting
combination of biomass and organic
matter that decays naturally.
Compost bin might include: soil,
grass clippings, kitchen scraps,
newspapers etc.
 7A contrast situations where work is done with different amounts of
force to situations where no work is done such as moving a box with
a ramp and without a ramp, or standing still

• What is work?
– Moving an object with a force over a distance
–W=FXD
• What is not work?
– Carrying a box: No Force
– Pushing a table: No movement
 Which requires more work?
A B
More force (steeper)
more distance
(higher)
Less force less
distance

5ft 10ft

Answer: B. B will require more work because the object is being lifted a
greater distance. (If the boxes were the same height and only the steepness
changes, then the same amount of work would be done because the force
changes.
With these two ramps work would
be the same
A B

5ft 5ft

Less force more distance

More force less distance
 7A contrast situations where work is done with different amounts of
force to situations where no work is done such as moving a box with
a ramp and without a ramp, or standing still

• Simple Machines: How do they effect work?

• Ramp:
– Decreases force
– Same amount of work
• Which ramp uses more work to push a box ?
•
5m 5m

Same amount of work!

 Weathering and erosion
• Oxidation, acid rain and living organisms are
chemical
all agents of _______________ weathering.

Limestone caverns form

oxidation through central Texas
Sink holes form
when caverns
collapse
 Weathering and erosion
• Freezing and thawing, animal actions and
abrasion are all agents of __________
mechanical
weathering.

Freezing and thawing Abrasion formed these arches

in the Arches national park in
Utah
 Protecting watersheds
Buildings and parking lots:
• Prevent water from entering the groundwater
(aquifer)supply
• Increase runoff
(fertilizers, chemicals etc)
Into surface water
 Well usage
Here’s our well

Adding homes, buildings and parking lots would decrease the amount of
water available in the aquifer and increase the amount of run off of
fertilizers, oil etc.
Adding a well in any area is going to decrease the amount of water in the
aquifer
 Groundwater erosion

This is a picture of Inner space Caverns in Georgetown this is a natural

formation. Much of central Texas has limestone rock layers beneath the
surface. This rock weathers chemically when carbonic acid seeps through
forming openings beneath the surface over thousands of years.
 What is an effect of erosion on the Gulf coastal Plain?

•
• Erosion changes the shape of the coastline
and creates barrier islands
 What is exfoliation?
It is the weathering of rock due to changes in
temperatures that cause Rock to appear to
“flake” off in sheets
Ex. Enchanted Rock in the Llano Uplift region
of Tx.
 Describe how deltas are formed.
• Deltas are formed as rivers carry sediment and
deposit it where the river meets the ocean.