8th Grade Science Guide

8.3: Ecology 3 Dimensions & Progressions

Unit 3

STANDARD ● 8.3.3 Ask questions to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how changes to an ecosystem affect the stability of cycling matter and the fow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Emphasize describing the cycling of matter and fow of energy through the carbon cycle. (MS-LS1-6)

CONCEPTS

SKILLS

● Changes to an ecosystem ● Cycling matter ● Flow of energy ● Biotic & abiotic

● Ask question ● Obtain, evaluate and

communicate information

LEARNING PROGRESSIONS

● Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy are transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers. ● Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil or water. ● Producers make their own food using the energy from the sun. ● This process is called photosynthesis. ● Consumers eat producers and sometimes decomposers for their energy. ● Energy is lost as it travels through the food web. ● Atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeated between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. ● Ecosystems are dynamic in nature and can change over time. ● Disruptions to any biotic or abiotic component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. ● The integrity of an ecosystems biodiversity is often used as a measure of its health.

VOCABULARY ● Stability

● Carbon Cycle ● Photosynthesis ● Cellular respiration ● Fossil fuel

● Carbon dioxide ● Atmosphere ● Producer ● Consumer ● Decomposer

● Matter cycling ● Energy fow ● Ecosystem ● FoodChain ● FoodWeb

● Biodiversity ● Tropic levels

POSSIBLE PHENOMENA ● There are few tertiary consumers in a system compared to the number of producers in the same system. ● A closed ecosphere that contains algae, coral, and shrimp has survived for many years; however, after being placed in a dark room, all the organisms die.