Matter and Energy in an Ecosystem
Describe how decomposers enrich soil and help other organisms survive. Be sure to describe what is produced during decomposition and how this benefits organisms in the environment.
Decomposers break down dead plants and animals. They return some of their elements and water to the soil, which helps plants grow.
How can you prove that we are affected by the pull of gravity?
ex. When I drop a rock, it falls to the ground.
What are the four main stages of the water cycle?
Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff.
What are the three states of matter?
Solid, liquid, and gas
Organism
A single, self-contained, living thing
How is the way that plants get energy different from the way that animals get energy?
Plants are producers and make their own food using air, water, and energy from the Sun. Animals are consumers and eat plants and other animals for food to get energy.
Earth rotates on its axis and changes the position of the tree in relation to the Sun. This causes the shadow to move.
The Sun is much closer to Earth than the other stars that we see as specks.
Describe one way that human activity can impact an ecosystem.
Humans can build houses and roads, destroying and changing an ecosystem. These changes could affect the organisms that live there.
Your friend is wondering if an ice cube has more mass before or after it melts. What would you tell him?
An ice cube has the same mass before and after it melts. The state of matter changes, but the amount of matter is the same before and after the change.
Decomposer
An organism that breaks down the remains of dead plants or animals without need for internal digestion
Give an example of a food chain, and describe the flow of energy through it.
The grass makes food for itself using the energy from the Sun. When a grasshopper eats the grass, it gains energy for survival. The energy from the grass was passed to the grasshopper. When a mockingbird flies along and eats the grasshopper, it gains the energy that the grasshopper had gained from eating the grass. The energy keeps getting passed on from organism to organism.
The direction of the greatest gravitational force acting on an object near the Earth’s surface is towards the...
Center of the Earth
Why does most evaporation in the water cycle happen from Earth’s oceans?
Most freshwater is found underground or in the solid form in glaciers. A small amount of freshwater is found in lakes, streams, and rivers.
You and your friends are at the park on a sunny day. You are playing on the slide. As you slide down, the hot metal slide burns your legs. Explain why this happened and why you did not burn your hands when you climbed up the rope ladder.
Metal is a good conductor of heat energy. Rope is not. As the Sun was shining on the park, the metal slide became hot, but the rope did not. This is why I burned my legs on the slide, but not my hands on the ladder.
Orbit
The path one object takes as it revolves around another object in space
Why do plants need energy from the Sun? Why do animals need energy from food?
Plants need energy from the Sun in order to grow and create their own food. Animals need energy from the Sun in order to grow, move, and do other life functions.
When you walk outside in the morning, you notice a shadow on the ground from a tree in your yard. When you get home in the afternoon, you notice the shadow is in a different place. Why did the shadow move?
Earth rotates on its axis and changes the position of the tree in relation to the Sun. This causes the shadow to move.
Why does most evaporation in the water cycle happen from Earth’s oceans?
Most evaporation in the water cycle happens from the oceans because oceans expose the most water to the Sun’s energy, driving the process of evaporation.
To prepare for a birthday party, you blow up balloons. Describe what happens to the balloon when you blow air into it. How does a balloon change its shape? Explain the processes happening inside of the balloon.
When we blow air into a balloon, we cannot see the gas, but we can see the balloon become larger. The particles in the gas are too small for us to see, but we know they exist because they expand to take the shape of the balloon.
Resource
Something valuable that we can use
Why is the Sun’s energy important for life on Earth?
The Sun heats Earth. The Sun provides energy for plants to grow, and ecosystems could not function without plants.
Why are summer days longer than winter days?
Summer days are longer than winter days because of the tilt of Earth’s axis. During the Northern Hemisphere’s summer, Earth’s axis tilts towards the Sun, which gives the Northern Hemisphere more hours of direct sunlight. In the winter, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, making the days shorter.
Most of Earth is covered in water, so why is it important to conserve water?
It is important to conserve water because most of Earth’s water is saltwater. People and many other organisms must have freshwater to live. People use freshwater faster than it can be naturally replenished through the water cycle. So, it is very important to conserve water.
An ice cube has the same mass before and after it melts. The state of matter changes, but the amount of matter is the same before and after the change.
The bubbles show that a new gas is being formed by the batter as it cooks. This is a chemical change because a new substance was formed.
Properties
Physical or chemical characteristics of matter used to describe or identify a substance