Science 14 Unit D: Matter and Energy in the Biosphere: Should we continue to extract oil from the Alberta oil sands?par Stephen Bore
1. explain the role of living systems in the cycling of matter in the biosphere (e.g., food chains)
2. assess the costs and benefits of technological developments that produce materials the ecosystem cannot recycle (e.g., disposable plastics, heavy metals)
3. assess the impact of modern agricultural technology on the natural pathways of recycling matter
4. identify and assess the needs and interests of society that have led to technologies with unforeseen environmental consequences
5. describe, in general terms, the characteristics of two Alberta biomes
6. define ecosystems in terms of biotic and abiotic factors
7. describe how various abiotic factors influence biodiversity in an ecosystem
8. explain how biotic relationships can be explained in terms of the movement of matter and energy, using food chains, food webs and energy pyramids
9. describe how interactions among organisms limit populations
10. assess the impact of the introduction of exotic species on a specific ecosystem or biome
11. describe the relationship between land use practices and altering ecosystems
12. trace the development of a technological application that has altered an ecosystem
13. Chapter 12: The Web of Life
13.1. 12.1 What is Energy?
13.2. 12.2 Storing Energy From the Sun
13.3. 12.3 Energy Pathways in the Ecosystem
13.4. 12.4 Energy Transfers
13.5. 12.5 The Cycles of Matter
14. Chapter 13: Populations
14.1. 13.1 Changing Populations
14.2. 13.2 Population Growth and Decline
14.3. 13.3 Limiting Factors
14.4. 13.4 Biotic Limiting Factors
14.5. 13.5 Human Impact
15. Chpater 14: Ecosystems and Biomes
15.1. 14.1 Ecosystems
15.2. 14.2 Climate and Land Ecosystems
15.3. 14.3 Location and Soil
15.4. 14.4 Biomes
15.5. 14.5 What Threatens Diversity?
16. Chapter 15: Protecting the Environment
16.1. 15.1 Producing More Food
16.2. 15.2 Producing More Energy
16.3. 15.3 Producing More Products
16.4. 15.4 Why So Much Waste?
16.5. 15.5 What Can We do?
17. explain how biodegradable materials reduce the impact of human-made products on the environment
18. describe, in general terms, how water, carbon, oxygen and nitrogen are cycled through the biosphere
19. explain why the flow of energy through the biosphere is linear and noncyclical
20. compare the recycling of matter by society with the natural cycling of matter through ecosystems
21. explain how various factors influence the size of populations; i.e., immigration and emigration, birth and death rates, food supply, predation, disease, reproductive rate, number of offspring produced, and climate change
