Science, Matter, Energy

and Ecosystems
Chapter 3
Science and
Critical
Thinking
Constructing the Hypothesis
•The goal of science is to discover facts
about the natural world and the principles
that explain these facts.
•How does one “measure” the natural
world?
Use senses, see, hear, feel, taste smell, as
well as tools to extend these senses
• Observations
• Can quantify, through statistics can validate
• Scientific Knowledge is ultimately traced to
Observations
Constructing the Hypothesis

The scientific method can be best

described as procedures used to learn
about our world.

Science cannot prove or disprove non-

quantifiable factors, such as ESP.
Constructing the Hypothesis

Must be stated in a way that allows

them to be tested.

A testable hypothesis is one that at

least potentially can be proved false.
Constructing the Hypothesis

•For example:
•There are no mermaids in the sea
• This is testable and can be proven false by finding
a mermaid

•There are mermaids in the sea

• This cannot be proven false, as the true believer
would say “They are there, you just didn’t find
them”
Constructing the Hypothesis
• Variables are factors that might affect
observations
• Models with variables one can alter –
Laboratory
• Ecological models – difficult to alter the
variables. Often only observations to
determine differences based on variability.
• In science, no absolute truths. No hypothesis
can be absolutely proved true.
• Make best decisions with available evidence.
• Scientific hypotheses – an unconfirmed explanation of an
observation that can be tested
• Scientific method – used to test hypotheses – ways
scientists gather data, formulate and test hypotheses.
• Peer review and publication – widely accepted – leads the
scientific theories and laws.
• Scientific theories – description of what we find happening
through repeated observations – verified and credible
hypothesis
• Scientific (natural) laws – description of what we find
happening, and is proven over and over
• Frontier science – preliminary results – often subject to
news stories
• Junk Science – no peer review
Levels of
organization
in nature.
The shaded
portion is the
five levels
that ecology
is based
upon.
What is Matter?

• Atoms, ions and molecules

• Anything that has mass and takes up space.
• Two forms:
• Element – distinctive building blocks of matter that
make up every material substance
• Compound – two or more different elements held
together by chemical bonds
What is Matter?

• Organic compounds
• Compounds containing carbon atoms combined with
each other and with atoms of one or more other
elements such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur,
phosphorus, chlorine, and fluorine.
• Inorganic compounds
• All compounds not classified as organic compounds.
The Law of Conservation of Matter

• Matter is not destroyed

• It only changes form
• There is no “away” – atoms are not destroyed,
just rearranged.

• What are some examples of matter changing

form?
First Law of Thermodynamics

•Energy is neither created nor destroyed

•Energy only changes form
•You can’t get something for nothing
• Or “There is no such thing as a free lunch!”
•ENERGY IN = ENERGY OUT
Energy

•Kinetic •Potential
•Wind •Water behind a
•Electricity dam
•Flowing water •Gasoline in your
car
•Unlit match
 Second Law of Thermodynamics
• In every transformation, some energy is
converted to heat
• You cannot break even in terms of energy quality

Waste energy is
low quality and
cannot be reused
Second Law of Thermodynamics

• What are some other examples of the Second

Law of Thermodynamics?
Water is heated due to energy loss from the flowing water and turbines
20-25% of the chemical energy in gasoline is converted to mechanical energy. The
rest is lost into the environment as low quality heat energy.
5% of electricity is changed into useful light. 95% is lost as low-quality heat.
• Photosynthesis is the
process of converting
solar energy into
chemical energy
stored in food
• CO2 + H20 ---> C6H12O6 + O2
• Respiration is the process of releasing chemical
energy stored in food to be used by living things.
• C6H12O6 + O2 ---> CO2 + H20
Ecological Concepts

• Ecology: Study of how organisms interact with

each other and with their non-living
surroundings.
• Eco - is from the Greek word “Oikos” for house
The Nature of Ecology
Levels of study in Ecology:
• Organisms – single animal
• Populations – same species
• Communities – populations living
together
• Ecosystems – community +
physical environment
• Biosphere – all the earth’s
ecosystems
The Earth’s Life-Support Systems
• Atmosphere
• Thin membrane of air
• Troposphere
• 11 miles
• Stratosphere
• 12-30 miles
• Lower portion (ozone)
• filters out harmful sun rays
• Allows life to exist on earth
• Lithosphere
• Earth’s crust
• Hydrosphere
• water
• Biosphere
• Living and dead
organisms
Natural Capital: Sustaining Life of
Earth
• One-way flow
of energy from
Sun
• Cycling of
crucial elements
• Gravity
Solar Capital: Flow of Energy to
and from the Earth
Greenhouse gasses
water vapor
CO2
Methane
Ozone

Increases kinetic energy,

Helps warm troposphere.
Allows life to exist
(as we know it) on earth.

As greenhouse gasses
increase, temperature of
troposphere increases.
Ecosystem Components
•Abiotic factors
•Biotic factors
•Range of tolerance for each species
•what factors are important for…
Ecosystem Components
• Limiting factors determines distributions
Law of Tolerance

• The existence, abundance and distribution of a

species is determined by levels of one or more
physical or chemical factors.
Common Limiting Factors
• Limiting factors – more important in regulating
population growth than other factors.
• Terrestrial ecosystems (on land)
• precipitation
• temperature
• soil nutrients
• Aquatic ecosystems
• temperature
• sunlight
• nutrients
• dissolved oxygen
• salinity
Biological Components of
Ecosystems
• Producers
(autotrophs)
• Consumers
(heterotrophs)
• Herbivores,
carnivores,
omnivores
• Decomposers
and
detritivores
• detritus = dead
organic
material
Biodiversity
• Genetic diversity – variety of genetic
material within a species or a population
• Species diversity – the number of
species present in different habitats
• Ecological diversity – the variety of
terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems found
in an area or on earth
• Functional diversity – biological and
chemical processes needed for the
survival of species, communities and
ecosystems
Energy Flow in Ecosystems
• Food chains – sequence of organisms which is
a source of food for the next.
• Food webs – most species participate in
several food chains (they don’t just eat one
thing!).
• Trophic levels
• each step in the flow of energy through an
ecosystem (feeding level)
Food Chains and Energy Flow in
Ecosystems
Ecological Pyramids
• Pyramid of
energy flow
• Ecological
efficiency
• Pyramid of
biomass
• Pyramid of
numbers
Food webs
•reality tends to
be more
complex than a
linear food
chain
Primary Productivity of Ecosystems
• Gross primary productivity (GPP)
• The rate at which an ecosystem's producers
capture and store a given amount of chemical
energy as biomass in a given length of time.
• Net primary productivity (NPP)
• Rate at which all the plants in an ecosystem
produce net useful chemical energy; equal to the
difference between the rate at which the plants in
an ecosystem produce useful chemical energy
(gross primary productivity) and the rate at which
they use some of that energy through cellular
respiration.
• (NPP = GPP – Respiration)
Net Primary Productivity
comparison
Soils
•Importance
• Provides most of the nutrients for plant life
• Cleans water
• Decompose and recycle biodegradable wastes
•Maturity and Horizons
• Surface litter layer
• Top soil layer (humus)
• Sub soil
• Parent material
•Variations with Climate and Biomes
•Variations in Texture and Porosity
Soil Profiles
in Different
Biomes
Material Cycling in Ecosystems
• Biogeochemical cycles – global cycles recycle
nutrients through the air, land and water
cycles are driven directly or indirectly by solar
energy and gravity
• Hydrologic cycle
• Carbon cycle
• Nitrogen cycle
• Phosphorus cycle
Hydrologic (Water) Cycle
Human Influence on the Water
Cycle
• Water withdraw from lakes and streams
• Clear vegetation
• Construct impervious surfaces
• Fill wetlands
• Modify water quality by adding nutrients
The Carbon
Cycle (Marine)
Based on Carbon Dioxide

Terrestrial producers
remove
CO2 from the air; aquatic
producers remove it from
the
water.

Through photosynthesis,
Converts to
carbohydrates.

O2 consuming producers
respire, breaking carbo-
hydrates back to CO2.

CO2 not released until

burned.
The Carbon Cycle (Terrestrial)
Human Influence on the Carbon
Cycle
• Clear trees and other plants, often times
permanently
• Burning fossil fuels and wood
• Increased CO2 in the troposphere enhance
natural greenhouse effect
• Results in global warming
 The Nitrogen Cycle
Atmosphere’s most abundant
element.

Bacteria help recycle nitrogen.

Nitrogen cannot be used by
plants
and animals without bacteria’s
help.

Waterlogged
soil
Ammonia not taken up by plants

Toxic to plants

Usable by plants
Human Influence on the Nitrogen
Cycle
• Add large amounts of nitric oxide by burning fuel
• Gas converted to nitrogen dioxide gas and nitric
acid (acid rain)
• Add nitrous oxide through anaerobic bacteria
breaking down livestock wastes (global warming).
• Release nitrogen stored in soils and plants by
destroying forests, grasslands and wetlands.
• Add excess nitrates for agriculture
• Remove nitrogen from topsoils through harvesting
various crops
 The Phosphorus Cycle
Slow

Bacteria not a major player

Washes from the land into

streams, then the sea.

Can be deposited as sediment

and remain for millions of
years.

Often a limiting factor for

plant growth on land.

Also limits growth in lakes

And streams because
phosphate salts are only
slightly soluble in water.
Human Influence on the Phosphorus
Cycle
• We mine large quantities of phosphate rock to
make inorganic fertilizers.
• We reduce the available phosphate in tropical
soils by clearing tropical forests.
• We disrupt aquatic systems with phosphates
from runoff of animal wastes and fertilizers, and
sewage systems.