Jessica Wada

EDSC 304

Energy and Matter Webercise

Introduction
Energy and matter in an ecosystem can be an abstract concept as it occurs on such a large
scale it can be hard to understand and grasp. In our lecture, some images were graphics
showing how energy or matter moved through an ecosystem. While viewing these are
helpful, it is even better to create your own visual diagram. In this exercise, you will be
doing research on energy flow and the carbon cycle in ecosystems. You will answer
questions that will ultimately help you create visual diagrams of both of these cycles.

Task
Your task is to ultimately create two diagrams: one of energy flow in an ecosystem and one
of the Carbon Cycle in Earth. The websites and questions will help guide you on what to
include in your diagrams. They will also help you to better understand the processes
involved in energy transfer and matter cycling, as well as introduce some issues that were
not discussed much in class. Follow the directions on the chart below. Before attempting to
make your diagram, make sure you read the accompanying article/website(s) and answer
any questions on a separate sheet of paper. When creating your diagrams, make sure to
draw arrows to show the movement of energy and carbon as well as a label explaining
what processes moved the energy or carbon. You can either explain the processes directly
on your diagram, or you can create a numbered key and explain the processes separately
on a different paper. More specific directions for each diagram appear in the chart below.
You may either draw/illustrate the diagrams by hand, make one on an iPad using an
application like Sketchbook or Paper 53, or use a combination of digital and written forms.

Process

Biomagnification and Energy

As a result of energy inefficiency, certain dangers present themselves when toxins are present
in the environment. Read the following article to learn more about it.
https://www.learner.org/courses/envsci/unit/text.php?unit=4&secNum=3

Read the introduction and do the activity (feeding the bird and reading the questions) on the
link below, then answer the questions provided below.
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/learning/player/lesson13/l13la1.html
1. In your own words, how would you explain gross productivity and net productivity?
2. Compare and contrast the terms bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Be sure to
include the importance of energy in your comparison.
3. Assess and discuss how the three different feeding strategies directed in the game
demonstrate the principles of bioaccumulation and biomagnification.
Jessica Wada
EDSC 304
Energy Flow Diagram
Based off the previous lecture and if needed, this review article:
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-biology/hs-ecology/trophic-
levels/a/food-chains-and-food-webs-article , create your own diagram of energy transfer in
an ecosystem. Be creative! Be sure to include images of the organisms and color.
Use this link to see a list of ecosystems you can choose from: http://www.ecosystem.org/types-
of-ecosystems. If you are unsure about what organisms live in the ecosystem, you may want to
look it up.

Biogeochemical Cycles
The following link is an online textbook section on Biogeochemical Cycles. Read the sections
on Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur. Be sure to look at and read the captions for the
figures as they provide key information! Then answer the questions below.
https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/envirobiology/chapter/3-2-biogeochemical-cycles/
1. Compare and contrast the two different main cycles of Carbon.
2. What role do photosynthesis and cellular respiration play?
3. What are the two main ways human activity can alter the nitrogen cycle?
4. Look at Figure 6 and read the caption. Evaluate why high population density leads to
large dead zones. Provide support for your reasoning.
5. What are the different ways sulfur enters both the atmosphere and land?

**Carbon Cycle Diagram

The following source discusses carbon on Earth and the different processes that cycle it
through. Use this to create your Carbon diagram. It should include at least 10 different
processes/places. Try to divide them equally into Carbon sinks and Carbon sources and be
sure to include photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/CarbonCycle

Evaluation
See the attached rubric to see how your diagrams will be graded. (will be created for
Assessment section)

Conclusion
The purpose of this exercise is to practice using online skills of collection. You will grow in
evaluating reliable sources, understanding visual representations of information,
reproducing information, and making sense of information in a non-linear fashion. 
This
task will help you meet the second student learning objective: “When given the major
components of an ecosystem, students will create two separate diagrams detailing the
energy flow and matter (Carbon) cycle within components of an ecosystem with 80%
accuracy, identifying the locations of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in each.” It
also addresses the unit goals about learning the roles of photosynthesis and cellular
respiration in the big picture of ecosystems.