How do all the organisms in an ecosystem get the resources they need to release energy?
Question: Why didn’t the plants and animals in the biodome have enough energy storage molecules?
Investigations Questions:
Where do the energy storage molecules in an ecosystem come from? (1.2, 1.3, 1.4)
What factors affect how many energy storage molecules producers are able to make? (1.5, 1.6)
Key Concepts:
(1) Carbon is part of carbon dioxide, which is abiotic matter. Carbon is also part of energy storage molecules, which are biotic matter. (1.4, 1.5)
(2) During the process of photosynthesis, producers make energy storage molecules, using carbon from carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight. This moves carbon from abiotic to biotic matter. (1.4)
(3) If one part of a system changes, this affects the rest of the system. (1.5)
(4) When there is more carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) in abiotic matter, more carbon is available to producers for making energy storage molecules. (1.6)
(5) When there is less carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) in abiotic matter, less carbon is available to producers for making energy storage molecules. (1.6)
(6) When there is more sunlight, producers can make more energy storage molecules from the carbon in carbon dioxide. (1.6)
(7) When there is less sunlight, producers cannot make as many energy storage molecules from the carbon in carbon dioxide. (1.6)
Question: What caused carbon dioxide to decrease in the air (abiotic matter) of the biodome?
Investigations Questions:
Where does the carbon dioxide in abiotic matter come from? (2.1)
How do organisms give off carbon dioxide? (2.2)
Key Concepts:
(8) As organisms release energy during cellular respiration, carbon dioxide is produced from the carbon in energy storage molecules. This process moves carbon from biotic to abiotic matter. (2.3)
Question: What happened to the carbon that used to be in the air (abiotic matter) of the biodome?
Investigations Questions:
If the amount of carbon changed in one part of a closed ecosystem, what happened to the carbon in the rest of the ecosystem? (3.1, 3.2)
Key Concepts:
(9) Since carbon cannot be produced or used up, the total amount of carbon in a closed ecosystem does not change. (3.3)
(10) If the amount of carbon increased in abiotic matter, then it also decreased in biotic matter. If the amount of carbon decreased in abiotic matter, then it also increased in biotic matter. (3.3)
Chapter 4: Science Seminar
Question: Why does deforestation lead to increased carbon dioxide in the air?
***Simply memorizing vocabulary words does us no good - being able to use them in conversation and use multiple words in the same sentence - THAT will help you better understand the content.***
abiotic matter: matter that makes up the nonliving parts of an ecosystem, such as air, water, and rocks
biotic matter: matter that makes up the living and dead organisms in an ecosystem
ecosystem: all the living and nonliving things interacting in a particular area
energy storage molecule: a molecule that organisms can use to release the energy they need to survive
system: a set of interacting parts forming a complex whole
consumer: an organism that needs to eat in order to get ESMs (such as starch and fat)
producer: an organism that can make its own ESMs
carbon: a type of atom (a tiny piece) that makes up molecules such as carbon dioxide and ESMs
carbon dioxide: a molecule made of carbon and oxygen atoms
photosynthesis: the process by which plants and other producers use energy from sunlight to change carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and glucose (an ESM)
cellular respiration: the chemical reaction between oxygen and glucose that releases energy into cells
decomposer: an organism that gets ESMs (such as glucose) by breaking down dead matter
connect: to link two or more things
20pts: Learning Check 1 (Google Form assigned through Classroom)
20pts: Learning Check 2 (Google Form assigned through Classroom)
60pts: Written Argument (Google Doc assigned through Classroom)
60pts: Final Assessment (done through Amplify online)
Final Unit Grade worth 100pts:
Option 1: 20pt learning check 1 + 20pt learning check 2 + 60pt Written Argument
Option 2: 20pt learning check 1 + 20pt learning check 2 + 60pt End of Unit Assessment
For students who earned a perfect score on the Critical Juncture Assessment, their grade will be determined:
Option 3: 20pt learning check 1 + 20pt learning check 2 + 60pt Independent Project Grade
(Click HERE for a video that explains how grading works)