What is ecology?
eco - oikos – “household”- “nature”
logy - logos – “the study of”
the study of nature
“The scientific study of the relationships between organisms and their environments”. Studying
ecology would involves investigating how organisms acquire and use energy, nutrients, and water from their environment
Definitions –
Producers: Autotrophic photosynthetic plants that support all other trophic levels by synthesizing sugars and other organic
molecules using light energy.
Trophic Levels-Definitions •
Carnivore: An animal that feeds on the flesh of other animals.
•
Secondary Consumers: Carnivorous animals that occupy the third trophic level and feed on the herbivores of the second trophic level.
•
Primary Consumers: Plant eaters (herbivores) that consume primary producers.
•
Herbivore: An animal that eats herbage or plant material. The largest animals on land today are herbivores.
Decomposers :
•Consumers that derive
energy from organic wastes and dead organisms. Examples are: Bacteria and fungi
What is Matter? Anything that takes up space and has a mass.
Air, water, trees, cement, and metals are all examples of matter
How many kinds of atoms are found in nature? 92 elements. Such as Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Phosphorous, etc.
The Molecular Nature of Matter
•Atoms bond to one another chemically to form stable units called
molecules.
Bonds •Bonds &
Bonds polarity
•Covalent bonds
•Hydrogen bonding
Ions •Atoms or molecules may gain or lose electrons and thus become electrically charged particles called
ions.
•Oppositely charged
ions are attracted to one another and may form stable units similar to molecules; however, they split into their individual ions when dissolved. For example table salt (sodium chloride NaCl) is a white crystalline material when dry but separates into individual ions when places in water
State of Matter •Depending on the amount of energy present, matter can occur in three common states:
solid,
liquid, or
gas.
Acids, Bases, and pH •An acid is any compound that releases hydrogen ions (H+, H3O+, protons) in a solution.
•Can you give some examples?
Inorganic acids:
Hydrochloric acid (HCl) HCl = H+ + Cl-
HCl + H2O = H3O+ + Cl-
Organic acids:
Acetic acid (CH3COOH) CH3COOH = CH3COO- + H+
• A base is the opposite of an acid in that it accepts hydrogen ions in solution. Many common bases release hydroxide ions (OH-).
• For example sodium hydroxide which is frequently used in household cleaning:
NaOH = Na+ + OH-
OH- + H+ = H2O
How many kinds of atoms are found in nature? 92 elements. Such as Oxygen, Nitrogen, Carbon, Phosphorous, etc.
•In any aqueous solution, a small number of water dissociate forming two ions, a hydrogen ion(H+) and a hydroxide ion (OH-).
•Pure water contains equal numbers of these ions, and we say that this water is
neutral (
pH = 7)
•Solutions in which the H+ concentration is greater than the OH- concentration are
acidic, while solutions in which the OH- concentration is greater than the H+ concentration are
basic.
Can you think of organic compounds which are essential for living things? •Carbohydrates
Proteins •Proteins are made of long chains of amino
Acids •Amino acids are organic molecules consisting of a central carbon linked to an acidic carboxyl group, a basic amino group, and an organic side chain unique to each type of amino acid.
•Organisms use 20 different amino acids to build proteins
Lipids: –Fats and oils, which are convenient form of energy storage, especially for mobile animals.
Chemical Reactions •During
chemical reactions, the amount of energy within the chemical bonds changes.
•If the chemical bonds in the new compounds have less chemical energy than the previous compounds, some of the energy may be released as heat and light (exothermic reactions)
Chemical reaction in living things •
Photosynthesis: is the process plants use to convert inorganic materials into organic matter, with the assistance of light energy, to be converted into organic sugar molecules.
•
Respiration: involves the use of atmospheric oxygen to break down large, organic molecules (sugars, fats, and proteins) into smaller, inorganic molecules (carbon dioxide and water). This process releases energy which the organisms can use.
Kinds of energy •There are several kinds of energy. Heat, light, electricity, and chemical energy.
•The energy contained in moving objects is called kinetic energy.
•Potential energy is the energy matter has because of its position. The water behind a dam has potential energy by virtue of its elevation
More abstracts about the ecology 1