Unit 2 · 7 lessons
Sustainable Ecosystems & Climate Change
How Earth's spheres interact, how energy flows and matter cycles through ecosystems, how photosynthesis and respiration fit together, what keeps ecosystems in balance, how human activity and climate change upset that balance, and the sustainable practices, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit knowledge, that help keep ecosystems healthy.
- 58 practice questions
- 62 flashcards
- 2 interactive lessons
Lessons
- 1Earth's Spheres and Ecosystem ComponentsEarth can be pictured as four connected spheres: the atmosphere (air), hydrosphere (water), lithosphere (rock and soil) and biosphere (life). An ecosystem is all the living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) parts of an area interacting together. Learn the vocabulary of ecology, how the spheres affect each other, and the free services healthy ecosystems give us.8 questions
- 2Energy Flow: Food Chains, Food Webs and Trophic LevelsEnergy enters almost every ecosystem as sunlight captured by producers, then passes to consumers when one organism eats another. Learn to read food chains and food webs, name trophic levels, explain why only about 10% of the energy at one level reaches the next, and calculate energy in an energy pyramid.9 questions
- 3Photosynthesis and Cellular RespirationPhotosynthesis uses light energy to turn carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. Cellular respiration releases the energy stored in glucose by combining it with oxygen, giving back carbon dioxide and water. Learn both word and balanced chemical equations, where each process happens, and why the two processes are complementary.8 questions
- 4Cycling of Matter: Carbon, Nitrogen and Water CyclesEarth has a fixed amount of matter, so the carbon, nitrogen and water that living things need are used over and over. Follow each through its cycle, learn the difference between a carbon source and a carbon sink, see how bacteria make nitrogen usable, and discover how burning fossil fuels, deforestation and fertilizer push these cycles out of balance.Interactive8 questions
- 5Biodiversity, Succession and Ecosystem SustainabilityA sustainable ecosystem keeps working over the long term, staying in dynamic equilibrium as populations rise and fall. Learn what biodiversity is and why it makes ecosystems resilient, how carrying capacity and limiting factors control populations, how air quality, water quality and soil health are measured with indicator species, and how ecosystems rebuild themselves through succession.Interactive8 questions
- 6Human Impacts on EcosystemsPeople change ecosystems faster than they can adjust. Learn how habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pollution, eutrophication, biomagnification of toxins and overharvesting upset the dynamic equilibrium of ecosystems, with Ontario and Canadian examples, and how agricultural innovations such as cover crops, no-till farming, crop rotation, precision agriculture and integrated pest management help farms work with ecosystems instead of against them.8 questions
- 7Climate Change and EcosystemsHuman activities have increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, warming Earth and especially Canada and the Arctic. Learn the main indicators of climate change, how it is affecting ecosystems and communities across Canada, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, how Indigenous sustainable practices reflect a deep understanding of dynamic equilibrium, and the difference between mitigation and adaptation.9 questions