Give an example of an ecosystem.

Identify each
component.

In this ecosystem, biotic and abiotic components are present along with the energy source
which is the sun. The biotic components present are the producers ( plants ), the consumers
( animals and humans ) while the abiotic components are the sunlight ( energy ), the air, the soil
and the water.
The Hydrologic Cycle

The Hydrologic Cycle also known as the water cycle involves the continuous rotation of water
inside the Earth. It describes the motion of water from the ground to the atmosphere and back
again. The Hydrologic Cycle is made of different processes, including evaporation, transpiration,
condensation, precipitation and run-off.

Evaporation is the change of state of a substance from liquid to gas. In order for it to take
place, energy ( from the sun ) is needed. Lakes and other bodies of ocean will start evaporating
when they have reached a certain temperature with the help of the energy coming from the sun.
This will then make the water evaporate, making H2O in its liquid form go into its gaseous form.

Next is transpiration, the evaporation of water through the stomata of plants. In biology, we
have been told that plants have these holes called stomata which is located under its leaves.
Transpiration is said to be a passive process in plants which is largely controlled by the humidity
of the atmosphere and the moisture content of the soil. With this said, only 1% of the water inside
the plant will be used in its growth process and the remaining 99% will be passed into the
atmosphere.

Condensation will then take place, where the water vapor will then be changed back to its
liquid state. In the atmosphere, this can be seen as clouds or dew, indicating the start of the
process. In a common understanding, condensation is the opposite of evaporation. While
evaporation needs energy to start the process, condensation, on the other hand, releases excess
energy after its process, which makes it simpler to assume that these two processes are the two
opposite side of a coin.

Precipitation will then take place if the clouds has too much water vapor clumped up,
constantly colliding to each other, thus forcing it to fall to the Earth. Precipitation can be in a form
of rain, hail, snow, or sleet. Precipitation is the primary way of us getting fresh water on earth,
which is needed in our everyday use.

Lastly, after precipitation , run-offs will then occur. This is due to the excessive precipitation
making the soil unable to absorb any more water. This will then result to rivers and lakes to be
formed and the excess H2O to stay on the ground. The excess H2O will again undergo
evaporation and all the processes mentioned above, starting the hydrologic cycle over again.

References:

https://www.weather.gov/jetstream/hydro

Submitted by : Raymund V. Samar BSCE2A