Ecosystem Thermodynamic System Ecosystem System

Name: ARCELY D.
ARMONIDAD
Course: HUMAN ECOLOGY
Module 2: Human in the Ecosystem
Lesson 2 – Ecosystem and How They Work
Activity 1– Answer the questions concisely and perform what are asked
1. What is Energy?
ENERGY is the ability or capacity to do work. Energy cannot be created or
destroyed.
2. Describe the two laws of thermodynamics?
The first law of thermodynamics, also known as Law of Conservation of Energy,
state that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; energy can only be
transferred or changed from one form to another. In a way, the first law is that
any change in the internal energy of a system is given by the sum of the heat that
flows across its boundaries and the work done on the system by the surroundings.
While the second law of thermodynamics says that the entropy of any isolated
systems spontaneously evolve towards thermal equilibrium.
3. What are the ecological implications of these two laws of thermodynamics?
Ecosystem as thermodynamic system. Ecosystem is an open system. It supports
structure and functioning due to external energy input. ... Energy, stored in organic
matter is used by producers themselves and is dissipated during the processes of
plants respiration, growth and reproduction in the form of heat.
4. What is the food chain? A food web?
FOOD CHAIN may be defined as the transfer of energy and nutrients from the
source in plants through a series of organisms with repeated processes of eating
and being eaten, while FOOD WEB is a natural interconnection of food chains.
5. Give a typical example of a food chain and a food web in an agro-ecosystem.
Diagram you examples.
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6. Give other human implication to the energy flow?
Photosynthetically fixed energy ultimately supports the great diversity of species that
inhabit the world's ecosystems. Globally, natural terrestrial ecosystems fixed about
2800×1018J of energy per year (net) prior to significant human impacts. In recent years,
humans have diverted or prevented about 20 to 30% of this energy from flowing
through natural ecosystems by maintaining croplands (15%) and urban areas (1.8%)
and by grazing livestock (2.3%). Habitat degradation, mainly in the form
of desertification, has also caused a reduction (4%). Energy flow can be related to
numbers of species with species-energy curves; these show the relations between
species richness and the total energy flow in different regions, and are similar to
species-area curves. By extrapolating back along a species-energy curve, the observed
reduction in natural energy flow due to human activity can be used to make a
quantitative prediction of species endangerment. Given 20 to 30% reduction in energy
and a species-energy curve exponent (z) between 0.10 and 0.20, the endangerment is
predicted of 2 to 7% of the world's terrestrial species. Projections to the year 2000
indicate that 3 to 9% of the world's species may be extinct or endangered by that time.
These estimates are probably conservative.
Lesson 3. Human and Biological Cycling
1. Summarize the process of the water cycle.

The water cycle describes how water evaporates from the surface of the earth, rises
into the atmosphere, cools and condenses into rain or snow in clouds, and falls again
to the surface as precipitation. The water falling on land collects in rivers and lakes,
soil, and porous layers of rock, and much of it flows back into the oceans, where it will
2
once more evaporate. The cycling of water in and out of the atmosphere is a
significant aspect of the weather patterns on earth.
2. Diagram and summarize the other gaseous nutrient cycles and sedimentary cycles
such as:
The carbon cycle is the process in

which carbon travels from the
atmosphere into organism and the
Earth. And then back into the
atmosphere. Plants take carbon
dioxide from the air and use it to make
food. Animals then eat food and
carbon is stored in their bodies or
released as CO2 through respiration.
The oxygen cycle is the cycle that helps

move oxygen through the three main
regions of the earth, the Atmosphere,
the Biosphere, and the Lithosphere.
Oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide
in animal respiration and regenerated
by green plants in photosynthesis.
The sulphur cycle begins with the

weathering of rocks, releasing the stored
sulphur. The sulphur then comes into
contact with air where it is converted into
sulphate (SO4). The sulphate is taken up
by plants and microorganisms and is
converted into organic forms; animals
then consume these organic forms
through foods they eat, thereby moving
the sulphur through the food chain.
3
3. This is a field work. What you need to bring is your data notebook. Remember
to use your five senses in your observation.
a. In a selected area, go to a freshwater ecosystem in a rural place and the other in
an urban/industrial place.
b. Record and map the two water bodies.
c. Compare the two types of water bodies with the following attributes:
Attributes Rural Ecosystem Urban
a. Vegetation Water lilies Mangrove
b. Animals none Dogs
c. Transparency of clear musky
water (musky, clear,
etc.)
d. Nature of substratum lake ocean
e. Color of water Clear if the weather is good (no Clear if the
calamities) weather is good
(no calamities)
f. Presence and type of Plastic Plastic, empty
any pollutant bottles and cans.
d. Make a list of the waste materials and the methods of disposal.
List of Waste Materials Found in Methods of Disposal

the Ecosystem
1. Plastics, empty bottles, Thrown in the seashore, no segregation.
cans
2. Old clothes, slippers Thrown anywhere or directly thrown into
water resources.
3. Household waste Thrown anywhere or directly thrown into
water resources.
4.
5.
4
4. What are the main biological problems associated with their disposal?
The threat of waste to the environment, health and safety is huge. And so are the
financial and social ramifications. Pollution runs into rivers and seeps into ground
water. Flooding is caused by garbage clogging drains, and the atmosphere can be
poisoned by the toxic discharge from trash.
5. Are there any indications of human disturbance to biological cycles you have
studied? List these disturbances.
Disturbances plays a significant role in shaping the structure of individual
populations and the character of whole ecosystems. Minor disturbances include
localized wind events, droughts, floods small wildland fires, and disease outbreaks
in plant and animal populations.
Prepared by:
NENIA N. BOHULANO, PhD

Professor MRD 212-Human
Note: email back as soon as you had done…

Ecosystem Thermodynamic System Ecosystem System

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Name: ARCELY D.

Course: HUMAN ECOLOGY

Module 2: Human in the Ecosystem

Lesson 2 – Ecosystem and How They Work

Lesson 3. Human and Biological Cycling

1. Summarize the process of the water cycle.

The carbon cycle is the process in

The oxygen cycle is the cycle that helps

The sulphur cycle begins with the

d. Make a list of the waste materials and the methods of disposal.

List of Waste Materials Found in Methods of Disposal

NENIA N. BOHULANO, PhD

Note: email back as soon as you had done…

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