Unit 1: The world around us

Supplementary Booklet
Model answers

Key concept: Relationships.

Related Concept: Interaction, Balance, Environment and Cycles.
Global Context: Globalization and sustainability: An exploration of global
biodiversity and the impact of human activities on the environment.
Statement of Inquiry: Balancing global biodiversity with human needs.
ATL Skill:
Collaboration
Communication
Organization
Critical thinking skills
Information literacy skills

Student’s name: -------------------------------- Section: -----------------

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 ATL Skills:

Information literacy Make connections between various sources of

information.
Topic 1: Ecosystems and the environment (Pg.4)
Q1:
Biome Definition: a distinct community of plants and the
organisms they support in a particular geographical
region.

Examples: Tundra.
Biotic Definition: a living factor.

Examples: Animal.
Abiotic Definition: a non-living factor.

Examples: Water.
Environment Definition: The conditions under which an organism
lives; terrestrial environments are land based, aquatic
environments are water based, and the atmosphere is
gaseous environment.

Examples: Natural environment.

Habitat Definition: The place where an organism lives.

Examples: Lakes.
Biodiversity Definition: The variety of different living things found
in an ecosystem.

Examples: The different varieties and types of animals

and plants that live in the ocean.
Species Definition: a class of individuals having common
attributes and designated by a common name.

Examples: Sloth - Choloepus hoffmanni.

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Q2:
a. For plants, the process of photosynthesis depends on the availability of sunlight. In the dark, a plant
cannot photosynthesize at all. In dim light, it can photosynthesize slowly. As light intensity increases, the
rate of photosynthesis will increase, until the plant is photosynthesizing as fast as it can.
b. Most chemical reactions happen faster at higher temperatures. This is because the molecules have
more kinetic energy- they are moving around faster, so they bump into each other more frequently. For
plants, the chemical reactions of photosynthesis can only take place very slowly at low temperatures, so
a plant can photosynthesize faster on a warm day than on a cold one.
c. Humidity means the moisture content of the air. For plants, the higher the humidity, the less water
will evaporate from the leaves. Humidity affects human beings and animals. The human body depends
on perspiration to get rid of excessive heat. During high humidity, evaporation of sweat from the body is
reduced. Blood relies on conduction of heat from the body to the atmosphere to cool. In high humidity
conditions, blood does not get rid of excessive heat, and it may lead to hyperthermia. Since most of the
blood is heading to the body’s surface, the internal organs such as the brain receive less blood leading to
fatigue and reduced physical strength.
d. pH is the measurement of hydrogen ions on a logarithmic scale from 0-14. The value of 7 is
considered neutral, values greater than 7 are basic and below 7 is acidic. Average soil pH ranges are
from 4-8. Each plant has a specific pH range for optimal growth. Phosphorous, one of the three main soil
nutrients, is strongly dependent upon soil pH. Conditions that are overly acidic or basic decrease
phosphorous availability to plants. A higher pH may also help to immobilize heavy metal contaminants
within the soil. Soil can also help to regulate the pH of water entering the stream.
e. Oxygen is needed for organisms in the process of cellular respiration in which sugar is broken down to
release energy. The chemical reaction in which plants convert light energy into usable chemical energy
depends on the availability of carbon dioxide.

f. Competition for resources, grazing, disease, food availability, predation, competition for habitats.

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Dichotomous keys (Pg.14)
a. Those organisms are not related at all as they are from different phyla. The first animal
is from the arthropods phylum and the second animal is from the vertebrate’s phylum.
Each animal exhibit certain physical and functional features that are shred within its
phylum.
b. Manis
c. Carpodiptera africana and Commiphora africana. Based on the binomial names, those
two animals share the same species name. Sharing the same species indicates that the
DNA sequence between them would be very similar and that they originate from the
same ancestor.
e. i. A. Crocodylus niloticus
B. Geochelone elephantopus
C. Ophiophagus hannah
D. Chamaeleo gracilis
ii. Binomial system.
iii. Binomial system is the scientific name of an organism that is made of two parts
starting with the genus (always given a capital letter) and followed by the species
(starting with a lower case letter). The genus is a biological classification ranking between
family and species, consisting of structurally related species. The species are organisms
that share common characteristics and are capable of interbreeding.
iv. Dry fixed scale on skin.
Topic 3: Interaction between organisms (Pg. 16)
1. Lynx is the predator and the hare is the prey.
2. The cyclic changes in abundance of the snowshoe hare and the lynx are seen in the
figure. These fluctuations present predator–prey relationship. When the population of
the snowshoe hare increases, the availability of food sources for the predator will be
abundant, and that in return will allow the population of prey to increase in number.
3. As the lynx population increases, more stress is being forced on the prey population
(hare) and that will lead to a drop in their number. As the lynx eats the hare, or many
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hares, it can reproduce. Thus, the lynx population expands. With more lynx hunting, the
hare population rapidly declines.
4. At the start of the graph, the hare population was very high, while the hare population
was low. As the hare started to migrate away, or die off, the lynx population was affected
too. This pattern has continued to repeat itself, with a lynx die off coming right after the
hare die off. The predator prey relationship between the hare and the lynx helps drive
this pattern. However, if you average out the peaks of the population, both populations
would hold stable or show only a slight increase or decrease over time.
5. An average of 9 years.
6. Many biotic factors could be responsible for the unusual number of hare in 1895.
Factors related to this result could include: less competition for resources from other
herbivore species, population of hare is disease free, food availability and that will result
in higher reproduction rates, less predation, no competition for habitats from other
preys.
7. The balance in predator prey relationships is important to control organisms. When
nature is in balance the populations of the animals are controlled. However, if one type
of animal eats most of its natural prey, the prey's population goes down too far. Without
enough food, the predator's population may also die and both animals could become
extinct. Keeping balanced fluctuating cycles will ensure the survival of both the predator
and the prey.
8. The hare population would have no predator to keep their numbers in control. This
would result in higher reproduction rate. The absence of selective breeding would result
in a generation of prey where the survival of the fittest is not a limiting rule.
9. Introducing a second predator would create a competition between predators on the
population of prey. This will result in a huge decline in the prey population, and it can
push it to extinction.
Symbiotic relationships
1. C. The shrimp and crab live and capture food from within the tentacles of giant
anemones. The anemone does not benefit nor harmed.
2. C. The pearlfish gets a safe place to live. The sea cucumber does not gain anything from
the relationship.

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3. P. The isopod stays in the mouth of the snapper fish for the rest of its life, feeding on
blood, mucus, and stray pieces of food from the fish.
4. M. Both the boxer crab and the anemones benefit from living together.
5. M. The alpheid shrimp and the goby fish are completely dependent on each other- the
goby benefits by getting a burrow to live in and the shrimp knows when the predators are
near.
6. M. The zooxanthellae are protected by the hard coral and obtain plant nutrients from
the coral.
Topic 4: Explaining interaction (Pg. 20)
1. The Sun.
2. Algae.
3. Water flea and Fly Larvae.
4. Man.
5. 3 (Eel, trout and pollan).
6. 2 (Mysis and young fish)
7. Algae Water flea Mysis Trout Pike Man
8. Competition for resources would be the effect of introducing the roach. If the prey
resource cannot support both populations, then lowered growth, or survival may result in
at least one species.

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9.

[Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rimmamoysenko.ru%2F9ww6lnj%2Ffood-web-
answer.html&psig=AOvVaw3YdbnPbjwUmjnk0YxE8wy6&ust=1602889382720000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA0QjhxqFwoTCMjiwrTat-
wCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD]

Pyramids of biomass, energy and numbers (Pg. 25)

1. Kelp Urchins Sea otters
2.
Sea otters

Urchins

Kelp

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3. Sea otters 30kg

Urchins 4 kg

Kelp 27 kg

Chemical cycles: The water cycle (Pg.26)

a.

b. Evaporation occurs when water changes from liquid to gas. Water in an ocean, lake,
river or wet surface (including soil or plants) absorbs energy and enters the atmosphere
as gaseous water vapor. When water vapor in the atmosphere condenses, it forms water
droplets, which we see as mist or clouds. As the tiny droplets join, their combined mass
gradually becomes too great to be held up by moving air. Precipitation refers to all forms
of the water pulled to the ground by gravity, such as rain, snow and hail. The cycle
continues when this water rejoins larger bodies of water or vegetation.

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Chemical cycles: The carbon cycle (Pg.27)

1.

2.

Combustion: Fuel+ oxygen Carbon dioxide and water

CH4+ 02 CO2+2H2O

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3.

4. Dead leaves from plants contain carbon. They are decomposed by microorganisms like
bacteria which take up carbon and then respire it into the atmosphere. Plants are
autotrophs and take carbon dioxide from the atmosphere via photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide to glucose which is needed to synthesize amino
acids, proteins and cellulose. These are all required for plants growth.

Chemical cycles: The nitrogen cycle (Pg.29)

1. Nitrogen is a key element in the nucleic acids DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid, and RNA
Ribonucleic acid. Both are the most important of all biological molecules and crucial for
all living things. DNA carries the genetic information, which means the instructions for
how to make up a life form. When plants do not get enough nitrogen, they are unable to
produce amino acids (substances that contain nitrogen and hydrogen and make up many
of living cells, muscles and tissue). Without amino acids, plants cannot make the special

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proteins that the plant cells need to grow. Without enough nitrogen, plant growth is
affected negatively.
2. Nitrate NO3 -
3. The process of converting nitrogen gas into nitrates is called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen
can be oxidized to nitrates in the heat of a lightning strike, but most of the natural
transfer of nitrogen between the atmosphere and living organisms relies on specialized
micro- organisms.
4. Nitrogen in the atmosphere can be transformed into a plant-usable form, a process
called nitrogen fixation, by lightning. Each bolt of lightning carries electrical energy that is
powerful enough to break the strong bonds of the nitrogen molecule in the atmosphere.
Once split, the nitrogen atoms quickly bond to oxygen in the atmosphere, forming
nitrogen dioxide. Along with the lightning in the cloud are cloud droplets and raindrops.
Nitrogen dioxide dissolves in water, creating nitric acid, which forms nitrates. The nitrates
fall to the ground in raindrops and seep into the soil in a form that can be absorbed by
plants.
5. Nitrite NO2-.
6. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria convert nitrogen gas from air into a form that plants can use to
make proteins. Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are also found in the soil. When they
die the nitrogen they have fixed into their biomass is converted into ammonium.
7. Legumes are good sources of protein-rich food. They are able to make proteins
because of their symbiotic relationship with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The bacteria benefit
by being protected inside root tissue where they are supplied with nutrients, mainly
glucose, and oxygen. The legume benefits by having a direct source of nitrates. When
eaten by other consumers, protein passes up through the food chain.
8. Denitrifying bacteria.

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