Global Environments

Introducing Physical Environments

Key Terms: physical environments

• A community of interacting plants and animals and their physical surroundings

Ecosystem

• Water-based communities of plants and animals

Aquatic Ecosystem

• Land-based communities of plants and animals

Terrestrial Ecosystem

• A vegetation community occupying a large area of the earth’s surfaceBiome

• The long-term weather pattern for a place or regionClimate

Understanding The Text

Read pages 104-5 of Global Explorations and answer the following questions: Define the term ‘ecosystem’ in your own

words Distinguish between aquatic and

terrestrial ecosystems What important role does climate have

in determining the type of ecosystems that exist in an area?

Activity: Interpreting Photographs

Photo

Type of physical environment or ecosystem

Dominant Features Climate

1 Coniferous forest Tall trees with thin branches

Cool (mist/leaves)

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Examine the photographs on page 106 of Global Explorations and complete the following table. See unit 5.1 for help identifying the ecosystems.

Types of Ecosystems

Aquatic

Oceans River estuaries

Coastal Wetlands

Coral Reefs

Terrestrial

Tropical Rainforest Tropical Savanna

Temperate grassland Forest

Mangroves Tundra

Which terrestrial ecosystem was missing from the sorting vortex?

Key Terms: weather & climate

• The weight of the air pressing down on the earth’s surface

Atmospheric Pressure

• A large body of air with similar temperature and moisture characteristicsAir mass

• The boundary between two air massesFront

• Any moisture reaching the surface of the earth, such as rain, snow and sleetPrecipitation

• Rainfall that occurs when warm, moist air is forced to rise by a mountain barrier. The rain falls on the mountain’s windward side

Orographic rainfall

• The conversion of liquid water into water vapourEvaporation

Understanding the Text

Read page 108 of Global Explorations and answer the following questions: Explain the difference between weather and

climate. Explain how high-pressure and low-pressure

systems develop. Describe the type of weather usually associated with each.

What are air masses? What is precipitation? Name the various

types.

Understanding the Text

Read pages 109-112 of Global Explorations and answer the following questions: Explain why temperatures are lower at higher

latitudes. Explain how seasonal differences affect climate. Describe how elevation affects climate. Outline the ways in which mountain ranges affect

climate. Explain how distance from the sea affects climate. Describe the impact that warm and cold ocean

currents have on climate.

Key Terms: The Water Cycle

• The conversion of water vapour into droplets of liquid vapour

Condensation

• The loss of water vapour from the leaves of plants

Transpiration

• The movement of water down through the soilInfiltration

• The movement of water down through the soil to become groundwater

Percolation

• The movement of surface water down slopesRunoff

Key Terms continued

• The ability of some rock types to store air or water in small spaces between the material it is made from

Porous

• Water stored beneath the earth’s surfaceGroundwat

er

• A layer of rock in which water is foundAquifer

• The level to which an aquifer is filledWater Table

Understanding the Text

Read pages 113-4 of Global Explorations and answer these questions: What is the water cycle? Why is the water cycle referred to as a closed system? What powers the water cycle? What is evaporation? What determines the amount of water vapour in the air? Why do regions near the Equator receive more rainfall than

other areas? What name is given to the process by which water vapour

is converted into droplets of liquid water? Describe what happens to precipitation once it reaches the

earth’s surface.

Key Terms: Ecosystems and food webs

• Organisms (plants) that produce their own food via the process of photosynthesis

Producers

• An organism that gains its energy requirements by eating plant or animal matter

Consumer

• Organisms that break down the remains of other living things

Decomposers

• The process by which green plants trap the energy from sunlight and use it to make food (such as sugars) from water and carbon dioxide

Photosynthesis

Key Terms continued

• Animals that eat only plants

Herbivores

• Animals that eat only meat

Carnivores

• Animals that eat both plants and meat

Omnivores

Game: Herbivore, Carnivore or Omnivore?

Understanding the Text

Read page115-6 of Global Explorations and answer these questions: What does each ecosystem have? Outline the factors that interact to

produce the variety of ecosystems on earth.

Understanding the Text

Read pages 117-9 and answer these questions: Explain how ecosystems get their energy. Explain the difference between a producer and a consumer

in a food chain. Outline how green plants manufacture their own food. Explain the difference between a herbivore and a

carnivore. What is an omnivore? Outline the role of decomposers in the food chain. Explain why there is no waste in an ecosystem. Identify what a food web shows that a food chain does not. What happens to the energy that is taken in by an animal

when it eats some grass?