Year 7-Science Holiday Homework Students are required to complete the assessment task below. They may use their textbook and the internet to assist them to complete the task. Due Date: Second week of Term 4
Investigating ecosystems further Year 7-Science Major Assessment Task 1. Match the terms related to ecosystems with their definitions on the right. Place the correct letter to the left of each number. 1 Abiotic A A group of organisms of the same species that live in the same habitat 2 Biotic B A very close relationship between two organisms of different species. It may benefit or harm one of the partners. 3 Ecosystem C The place where an organism lives 4 Habitat D The loss of a complete species. A species becomes extinct when the last organism of the species dies. 5 Population E Organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down the matter of dead organisms so that it can be returned to the soil, air and water 6 Community F An organism that relies entirely on other organisms for its food 7 Photosynthesis G A system of living and nonliving things that interact with and depend upon each other 8 Cellular respiration H An animal that is hunted by other animals for food 9 Autotroph I A chemical reaction that breaks down glucose for energy in the cells of living things 10 Heterotroph J An animal that eats plants and other animals 11 Producer K Describes living parts of an ecosystem 12 Consumer L Animals that eat dead plant and animal material 13 Scavengers M A diagram, beginning with a producer or producers, that shows what organisms eat 14 Decomposer N An organism that makes its own food using energy from an outside source, usually the sun 15 Herbivore O Two or more populations living in the same area at the same time 16 Carnivore P The fight between living things for the same resource in the environment 17 Omnivore Q An organism that feeds on other organisms 18 Predator R Describes the different levels in a food chain, food web or food pyramid 19 Prey S Describes a species that is not native to an ecosystem; it has been brought in from another ecosystem
20 Food chain/web T An organism that makes its own food, such as plants, phytoplankton and certain bacteria 21 Trophic level U Describes the non-living parts of an ecosystem 22 Competition V A chemical reaction that occurs in plants to convert sunlight energy into stored chemical energy in the form of glucose 23 Symbiosis W An animal that hunts other animals for food 24 Endangered species X An animal that eats other animals and plants 25 Extinction Y An animal or plant that is under the threat of extinction 26 Introduced Z An animal that eats only plants 2. Use the information below to answer the questions that follow. The aquatic organisms that inhabit the intertidal zone of the ocean experience a variety of effects from abiotic and biotic environmental factors caused by the changing low and high tides. At times of low tide, animals find refuge in moist burrows or in the confines of their shells. Sea snails are equipped with a trapdoor-like appendage called an operculum which traps oxygenrich water in their shell during low tide. Alternatively they can move to nearby rock pools or anchor themselves to a rock, which has the same effect as the trapdoor. It is at low tide that animals inhabiting the intertidal zone are most vulnerable to predators of all kinds, including man. (a) Define the term abiotic. - - (b) List the abiotic factors that would affect the organisms in the ecosystem at low tide. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (c) Name a biotic factor experienced by animals in the ecosystem at low tide but not high tide. - 3. (a) Why are plants referred to as producers? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(b) Explain how aquatic algae fit the same description. (c) Name and describe the process that produces oxygen and sugars within plants. (d) Explain how oxygen and sugars are used in animals and name this process. - - (e) Write the word equation for the processes described in parts (c) and (d). -- 4. (a) Arrange the following organisms into a food chain and label accordingly (e.g. producer, first-order consumer, second-order consumer, third-order consumer, decomposer): diatoms, tiger shark, jellyfish, tang fish, sea turtle. -
(b) Use the organisms below to extend your food chain to a food web: krill, small fish, eel, killer whale, squid, dolphin, seal, seagull. (c) Identify the top consumer in your food web. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. (a) Create a diagram of the water cycle using the following words: condensation, evaporation, precipitation, run-off, soakage, transpiration. (b) Referring to your diagram from part (a), explain the possible effects that a chemical spill into the lake would have on the surrounding environment and organisms. As part of this explanation, you will need to think about how the chemical dissolved in water would move through the water cycle. - - -
6. Explain the effects of mass deforestation on the carbon cycle. - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Referring to the food web pictured below, explain why food chains within this or any food web have no more than four links. ------- ------
8. Match the terms related to human impact on the environment with their definitions on the right. Place the correct letter to the left of each number. 1 Sustainability A Describes any substance that can be broken down or decomposed naturally 2 Greenhouse effect B Refers to whether or not resources are consumed faster than can be produced or renewed 3 Greenhouse gases C A natural effect of the Earth s atmosphere trapping heat to keep the Earth s temperature stable 4 Global warming D Chemicals released by human activity that remain in the environment and affect the living and non-living things in it 5 Ecological footprint E Describes any substance that cannot be broken down or decomposed easily in the environment 6 Biodegradable F An increase in the Earth s temperature over a period of many years 7 Non-biodegradable G Gases in the air that trap heat, some of which are released by the manufacturing and the burning of fossil fuels 8 Pollutant H The amount of space that is needed to support our lifestyle, based on the amount of resources we use and the waste we produce 9. Create a Venn diagram to identify the similarities and differences between sustainability and an ecological footprint. 10. Suggest ways in which human society can reduce its ecological footprint and obtain sustainability. ------- ------- ------- -------
11. Predict the effect of environmental changes on the feeding relationship between organisms. Ensure that you use scientific reasoning/evidence to support your predictions. ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ------ ------- ------- -------
12. Develop two questions that can be investigated scientifically related to the topic on ecosystems. ----- ---- ---- ----