Transcript “locked up” in fossil fuels. It is only released when we burn them

CONTENT& LANGUAGE
INTEGRATED LEARNING
Liceo Scientifico Ambientale
Laveno
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The goal of this module is to have students understand
the following concepts:
• What an ecosystem consists of
•Principal ways species interact
•The carbon cycle
• How living things affect the atmosphere
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• What the consequences of global warming will be
• What we mean by sustainable development
• How families can help to conserve resources
• Acid, basic and neutral pH
values
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The biosphere
The biosphere is the place where all the
other spheres of the planet work together.
The land interacts with the air.
The land interacts with the water
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The land even interacts with forces deep inside
the Earth and the energy coming to the Earth
from space.
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Within the biosphere are several large
categories of living communities known as
biomes.
Tundra in Greenland
Florida's Everglades, the largest wetland
system in the United States.
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Biomes are usually characterized by their dominant
vegetation such as grasslands, tropical forests, or
deserts.
tropical rainforest
boreal forest
desert
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Ecosystems
A biome is made up of many individual ecosystems.
An ecosystem is a natural unit
consisting of all plants,
animals and micro-organisms
(biotic factors) in an area
functioning together with all
of non-living physical (abiotic)
factors of the environment.
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Organisms that make up the biotic component of an
ecosystem are usually classified as autotrophs and
heterotrophs, based on how they get their food or
organic nutrients they need to survive.
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Autotrophs(producers)-are organisms that
can manufacture the organic compounds
they need as nutrients from simple inorganic
compounds obtained from their environment.
In most terrestrial ecosystems, green plants
are the producers.
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Heterotrophs(consumers)-are organisms
which cannot synthesize the organic
nutrients they need and get their organic
nutrients by feeding on the tissues of
producers or other consumers.
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There are several classes of consumers,
depending on their food source.
• Primary consumers (herbivores) feed
directly on plants or other producers.
•Secondary consumers (carnivores)
feed only on primary consumers.
•Tertiary or higher level consumers
feed only on animal-eating animals.
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• Omnivores can eat both plants and animals.
Examples are pigs, rats and humans.
•Detritivores (decomposers and detritus feeders)
live off of detritus, parts of dead organisms and
waste of living organisms. Decomposers consist
of various bacteria and fungi.
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The abiotic components of an ecosystem
include various physical factors such as:
sunlight and shade,
average temperature
latitude and altitude
nature of soil
Sunlight shining through clouds
water current
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and chemical factors like:
level of water and air in soil
level of plant nutrients dissolved in soil moisture and
in the water
level of natural or artifical toxic substances dissolved
in soil moisture and in water
salinity of water for aquatic ecosystems
level of dissolved oxygen in aquatic ecosystems
Part of an aquatic ecosystem
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Principal Ways Species Interact
Ecological interactions are important
because they can affect distribution,
abundance and evolution.
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Types of ecological interactions:
Competition
Two species share
a requirement for a
limited resource.
Each species is affected negatively
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Predation
One species feeds on another.
One species benefits, one is disadvantaged.
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Parasitism
One species feeds on another.
One species benefits, one is disadvantaged.
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Commensalism
One species receives a
benefit from another
species.
One species benefits, one unaffected.
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Symbiosis
Two species live together.
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Mutualism
Two species provide
resources or services
to each other.
Both species benefit from interaction.
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The carbon cycle
Materials are constantly cycled
through the environment.
One of the most important of
these is carbon.
eo.ucar.edu/kids/green/cycles6.htm
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All of the main molecules that make up our
bodies are based on carbon atoms combined
with other elements.
The amount of carbon on the Earth is fixed.
Some of the carbon is “locked up” in fossil
fuels. It is only released when we burn them.
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There is a pool of carbon in the form of
carbon dioxide in the air.
It is also found dissolved in the water of
lakes, rivers and oceans.
All the time a relatively small amount of
available carbon is cycled between living
things and the environment.
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We call this the carbon cycle.
Step one
Green plants use carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere in photosyntesis.
They use it to make carbohydrates which in
turn make biomass.
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Step two
Animals eat plants and breathe in oxygen
and breathe out carbon dioxide.
They use oxygen to break down glucose,
providing energy for their cells.
Carbon dioxide is produced as a waste
product and is returned to the atmosphere.
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Step three
When plants and animals die their bodies are
broken down by the decomposers.
These decomposers release carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere as they respire.
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All the carbon dioxide released by the various
living organisms is then available again.
It is ready to be taken up by
plants in photosynthesis.
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How people affect the planet
The increase in the numbers
of people has had a big effect
on our environment.
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More and more land is used for the building
of houses, shops, industrial sites and roads.
Some of these building projects destroy the
habitats of rare species of other living
organisms.
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We use billions of acres of land around the
world for farming,
to grow food and
other crops for
human use.
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Acid rain
One of the major sources of air
pollution is the burning of fossil
fuels.
Fossil fuel is a non-renewable resource – there is
a limited amount of it on Earth and eventually it
will all be used up.
When these burn they react with oxygen to
form sulfur dioxide gas.
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When fossil fuels are burnt, carbon dioxide is
released into the atmosphere as a waste product.
However, carbon dioxide is not the only waste
gas produced. Fossil fuels often contain sulfur
impurities.
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At high temperatures, for example in car engines,
nitrogen oxides are also released into the atmosphere.
wind
Acidic gases
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Acidic
gases
are
dissolve
d in the
rain
and the
snow
The sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides
dissolve in the rain and react with oxygen in
the air to form dilute sulfuric acid and nitric
acid. This makes the rain more acidic – it is
known as acid rain.
Acid rain is a difficult form of
air pollution to control.
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Many Western countries have worked
hard to stop their factories and power
stations from producing these acidic
gases.
Unfortunately there are still many places
in the world where these gases are not
controlled.
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Some countries have introduced
measures to reduce the levels of
sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen
oxides (NOx) in the air. Pollution can
be reduced by saving energy.
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Greenhouse effect
Normally the Earth radiates back much of the heat
energy it absorbs from the Sun. This keeps the
temperature at the surface acceptable for life.
Now carbon dioxide and methane are
building up in the atmosphere.
They are acting like a greenhouse
around the Earth.
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The greenhouse gases absorb much of the heat
energy, which is radiated away, and prevent it
escaping into space.
This keeps the Earth warmer than it would be
without these gases.
The greenhouse gases are not a bad thing
in themselves, but too much of them in the
atmosphere leads to global warming.
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Sustainable development
As our world gets more and more crowded,
we are becoming increasingly aware of the
need for sustainable development.
Sustainable development means looking
after the environment. We need to conserve
natural resources.
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An important part of sustainable development
is using natural resources wisely.
We can help to do this in a lot of ways.
We live in a throw-away society.
But if we recycle our waste, we save resources,
use land wisely and use less energy.
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We can recycle our old newspapers (saving
trees), glass bottles (saving energy) and
aluminium cans (saving aluminium ore and
energy)!
Another way we can help is
to make our homes more
energy-efficient.
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Finally we can look at our transport.
We can help by avoiding using our cars
when possible.
It will help us save petrol (a nonrenewable resource) and also avoid
adding more carbon dioxide to the
atmosphere.
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Experiment
Students will learn to
•use an electronic pH
meter
and pH
paper.
•understand the differences
among acid, basic and neutral
pH values.
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TABLE - MEASURING THE pH of natural water, tap water and rain water
pH
SUBSTANCES
electronic
meter
tap water
rain water
natural water
EQUIPMENTS
electronic pH meter
universal indicator
a roll
beakers or glass pots
3
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pH
universal
paper
COLOUR
Reference material in English on the
internet:
www.chemistryforyou.co.uk
www.chem.purdue.edu
www.nyu.edu
www. bbc.co.uk
www. 2.mcdaniel.edu
www. idahoptv.org
www.chem4kids.com
http://www.epa.gov/acidrain/measure/index.html
www.onestopclil.com
Wikimedia Commons.
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