How can we help maintain ecological balance?

● Environmental Science
○ An interdisciplinary academic field that draws on ecology, geology, meteorology,
biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics to study environmental problems
and human impacts on the environment.
○ Considered separate from environmental studies, which emphasizes the human
relationship with the environment and the social and political dimensions
thereof
○ A quantitative discipline with both applied and theoretical aspects and has been
influential in informing the policies of governments around the world
● Abiotic factors: non-living, physical factors in the ecosystem that may influence an
organism or a system
○ Sunlight influences temperature and evaporation rates, which also influences
precipitation levels (interdependent)
○ The availability and movement of water through soil and bedrock impacts soil
pH, which in turn determines which plants grow in a particular location
(interdependent)
● Biotic factors: living components or factors in the ecosystem
● Ecologists study several levels of organizations
○ Species
■ A group of the same type of organisms that is able to reproduce and
produce fertile offspring
○ Population
■ A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the
same time
● Able to interbreed
● Populations can be separated by geography eventually stopping
interbreeding
● Formation of a new species
○ Community
■ A group of habitats (home to different species) living in the same area at
the same time
○ Ecosystem
■ A community of interdependent organisms and their interactions with
the physical environment in which they live
■ Can also be defined as the abiotic and biotic factors and the interactions
between them
 ■ The interaction between organisms and the environment is the key
○ Biome
○ Biosphere
● Major Biotic and Abiotic Components of an Ecosystem

Flow of Energy and Matter

● The characteristics of a system

○ Storages - a place where matter and energy are kept in the system
 ○ Flows – provides inputs and outputs of energy and matter. These are processes
that either be transfers or transformations
○ Transfers – change in location
○ Transformation – change in a chemical nature; change in a state or change in
energy
○ Stores of energy – are usually shown as boxes
○ Flows of energy – are usually shown as arrows; with the amount of energy in
joules or in biomass per unit, the area is represented by the thickness of the
arrow.
● Energy and Matter - are essential in the support of the ecosystem
● Two processes control the flow of energy through ecosystems
○ Photosynthesis
○ Respiration
● Cellular respiration
● Integration – the flow of energy
○ State how energy in an organism can be lost?
○ As respiration is a chemical reaction, there are useful energy transfers taking
place, however as a byproduct of these reactions heat energy is produced.
○ Keywords:
■ Useful energy
■ Wasted energy
Food Chain
● Food chain – A food chain describes how energy and nutrients move through an
ecosystem. At the basic level, there are plants that produce the energy, then it moves
up to higher-level organisms like herbivores. After that when carnivores eat the
herbivores, energy is transferred from one to the other.

● Food web – A food web consists of all the food chains in a single ecosystem. Each living
thing in an ecosystem is part of multiple food chains. Each food chain is one possible
path that energy and nutrients may take as they move through the ecosystem.
● Trophic level pyramid – A trophic level refers to a level or a position in a food chain, a
food web, or an ecological pyramid. It is occupied by a group of organisms that have a
similar feeding mode.

● Autotrophs – plants (always just the producers)

● Heterotrophs – animals and humans (cannot produce their own food, instead taking
nutrition from other sources)
● Biomagnification of Pesticides
●
● Quiz
○ What are Autotrophs? producers
○ What substances do Autotrophs use to make their own substances? All of the
above
○ In which tropic level is energy being produced the most? The autotrophs
○ When does the food chain begin? Photosynthesis
○ Which is not a trophic level? Decomposer
 ○ How can a symbiotic relationship be defined as a whole? An interaction
between species
○ Which of the symbiotic relationships does not require two different species?
Competition
○ An organism that eats meat, what is it called? Carnivore
○ What is the example of commensalism? Remora’s with a shark
Carbon Cycle
● The cycle in which carbon dioxide moved or transferred from the sun down to the food
Experiment 1

Temperature Description

Empty Flask 27.7 Celcius Empty flask

Flask with baking soda and 25.0 Celcius Frothy white substance
vinegar (vinegar and baking soda)

Post-Lab questions
1. Compare and contrast the temperature results obtained for the different thermometer
setups

Flask 1’s (empty flask) temperature increased by 1 Celcius within 5 minutes (26.7
Celcius to 27.7 Celcius), while Flask 2’s (with baking soda and vinegar) temperature
decreased by 1.9 Celcius within 5 minutes. Because Flask 2 contained a mixture of
baking soda and vinegar, which makes the metal of the temperature probe cold, the
temperature for Flask 2 will appear as decreased on the probe machine.

2. Which flask sample contained the largest amount of CO2? Which contained the least?

Flask 1 contained the largest amount of CO2, as it has a higher temperature than Flask
2; usually, the higher the CO2, the higher the temperature, so we can assume that the
flask sample containing the largest amount of CO2 is Flask 1. Conversely, the flask
sample containing the least amount of CO2 is Flask 2, as it resulted in a lower
temperature than Flask 1.

3. How do the temperature results observed for the different flasks relate to the
greenhouse effect?
 The greenhouse effect is when gases in Earth's atmosphere capture the heat from the
Sun, which makes Earth become significantly warmer as a result of this process than it
would be otherwise. In the experiment, the lamps used represented sunlight, and how
the heat from the sunlight affects the temperature and carbon dioxide of each flask,
correlating the experiment’s relation to the greenhouse effect.

4. What is a greenhouse effect?

According to NASA Climate Kids, the greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when
gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat. This process makes Earth much
warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of the
things that makes Earth a comfortable place to live.

5. What are the greenhouse gases?

According to NRDC, he main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor (which all occur naturally), and
fluorinated gases (which are synthetic). In this experiment, the main greenhouse gas is
carbon dioxide.

6. What are the sources of greenhouse gases?

According to US EPA, almost all of the rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over
the past 150 years can be attributed to human activity. Burning fossil fuels for
transportation, heat, and power is the main cause of human-related greenhouse gas
emissions in the United States.

7. Describe possible sources of experimental error that may affect the results of the
experiment

- Watts of the lights for the lamp

- The color of the light
- The distance of the light from the flask

Procedure
1. Prepare all materials needed for the experiment
 2. Place 2 of your flasks on the table. One flask will be empty, the other will be filled with
vinegar and baking soda.
3. Place a lamp towards each flask (2 lamps).
4. Connect the temperature probes to the probe machine and record the initial
temperature for both flasks.

Initial Temperature

Flask 1 (empty) 26.7 Celcius

Flask 2 (vinegar and baking soda) 26.9 Celcius

5. In Flask 2, pour 2 tablespoons of baking soda. When everything is ready, pour 60 mL of

vinegar into flask 2.
6. Leave the flasks for 5 minutes to record the final temperature of the flasks.
7. After 5 minutes, record the final temperature and description for each flask.

Final Temperature

Flask 1 (empty) 27.7 Celcius

Flask 2 (vinegar and baking soda) 25.0 Celcius

Description

Flask 1 (empty) Empty flask

Flask 2 (vinegar and baking soda) Frothy white substance (vinegar and
baking soda)

Nitrogen Cycle
● Nitrogen storage
● Sinks

Water Cycle
● How water is
Food Chain Rewrite
● Autotrophs – organisms that make their own food; known as producers. Plants are an
example. They produce their food through photosynthesis.
● Heterotrophs – organisms that eat other plants and animals; known as consumers
because they consume producers and/or other consumers. Animals and humans are an
example.
● Consumer – organisms that obtain their energy by consuming plants or other animals
with several sub-divisions under it: carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, and parasites.
● Prey – animals that are killed and eaten by other animals; animals that predators
consume as food
● Predator – an animal that hunts, kills, and consumes another animal for nourishment
● Decomposers – essential to an ecosystem’s ability to transfer energy; disassemble
decomposing organisms into more straightforward inorganic components, releasing
nutrients for use by primary producers, and provide essential nutrients to an
ecosystem’s main producers. Decomposers include: bacteria, protozoa, fungi, and
invertebrate animals (millipedes, termites, and earthworms)
●