Name: Loren Mae Detalo Date: November 29, 2022

Course/Year: BSEM 3 Environmental Science

ACTIVITY 5
Matter and Energy

1. What was the initial working hypothesis for how plants gained mass?
- That plants grew by "eating" soil through their roots.

2. Describe the results of Van Helmont’s experiment.

a. Change in tree mass:
- gained 74.5 kg
b. Change in soil mass:
- increased by 0.6 kg

3. Define each term:

a. Matter – Everything that takes up space and has mass.
b. Mass – The measurement of the amount of matter in an object.
c. Volume – The measurement of the amount of space an object takes up.
d. Energy – The capacity for doing work.

4. All matter in the universe is made of atoms. What is an atom?

- Atoms are the smallest particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element.

5. Define each part of an atom and label them on the diagram.

a. Protons - Positively charged particle, located in the nucleus.
b. Neutrons - subatomic particles found inside the nucleus of every atom.
c. Electrons - a negatively charged subatomic particle that can be either bound to an atom or free
(not bound).

Neutron
s

Electrons

Protons

6. What is a molecule?
- is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds;
depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion.

7. Describe the results of Priestly’s experiments:

a. Lit candle in a sealed jar:
- A candle placed in a sealed bell jar would eventually burn out and could not be relighted while
still in the jar. 
b. Mouse in a sealed jar:
- observed it to eventually perish.
c. Mouse in a jar with a plant:
- The plant reinstated the air that spoiled by the candle and the rat.

8. What molecule did Priestly discover?

- Oxygen

9. Give the chemical formula and percent composition of each of these molecules found in
air:
 Molecule Chemical Formula Percent Composition
Nitrogen N or N2 82.35%
Oxygen O 57.14%
Water H2O mass percent hydrogen is
11.11% and the mass percent
oxygen is 88.89%
Carbon C 14.298%

10. Describe the result of Ingenhousz’s experiments with plants:

a. Plant left in shade:
- Not exposed to light, the bubbles are not produced. 
b. Plant placed in sun:
-  exposed to light, give off bubbles from their leaves

11. What is photosynthesis?

-  The process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and
energy in the form of sugar.

Energy

12. Define potential energy – stored energy that depends upon the relative position of various
parts of a system.
a. What is an example?
- The heavy ball of a demolition machine is storing energy when it is held at an elevated
position.

13. Define kinetic energy – the energy an object has because of its motion.
a. What is an example?
- A person walking

14. What type of energy makes up the electromagnetic spectrum?

- Gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, and radio waves.
15. Define each of the three types of electromagnetic energy released by the sun:
a. Ultraviolet – The word itself, ultraviolet, refers to the fact that its wavelength is shorter than
the violet end of the spectrum of visible light.
b. Visible – To be able to be seen in its entirety from a distance at least 100 feet away, free of
any obstacle that may block the field of view from at least 45 degrees above, fore, and aft of the
vessel.
c. Infrared – are part of the electromagnetic spectrum. People encounter Infrared waves every
day; the human eye cannot see it, but humans can detect it as heat.

16. What wavelengths of energy do plants use?

- The best wavelengths of visible light for photosynthesis fall within the blue range (425–450
nm) and red range (600–700 nm).

17. Where do plants get most of their mass from?

- Plants get their mass from water and air.

18. Give the full equation for photosynthesis:

- 6CO2+6H2O→C6H12O6+6O2.

19. Explain how cell respiration helps animals and fungi get energy.
- Cellular respiration is the process that occurs in the mitochondria of organisms (animals and
plants) to break down sugar in the presence of oxygen to release energy in the form of ATP.

20. Give the full equation for cell respiration:

- C 6 H 12 O 6 + 6 O 2 --> 6 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O + ATP 

21. Write the two Laws of Thermodynamics:

First Law: First Law of Thermodynamics states that total energy in a closed system is neither
lost nor gained it is only transformed. 
Second Law: For a spontaneous process, the entropy of the universe increases.
Food Chains and Food Webs
22. What does a food chain diagram show?
-  A food chain shows how energy is transferred from one living organism to another via food.

23. Label each of the levels of the food chain shown.

Level 1: Producer

Level 2: Primary Consumer

Level 3: Secondary Consumer

Level 4: Tertiary Consumer

Level 5: Final Consumer

24. What do each of these use as a source of energy?

a. Producers - use energy and inorganic molecules to make food.
b. Consumers - Living things that have to hunt, gather and eat their food are called consumers.
c. Decomposers - microscopic organisms, including protozoa and bacteria. 

25. What does the 10% rule estimate?

- The 10% Rule means that when energy is passed in an ecosystem from one trophic level to the
next, only ten percent of the energy will be passed on.

a. What happens to the rest (the other 90%)?

- At each step up the food chain, only 10 percent of the energy is passed on to the next level,
while approximately 90 percent of the energy is lost as heat.