MATTER, LIFE, AND ENERGY

Environment

from the French environner which means to encircle or surround.

Environmental Science

The systematic study of our environment and our proper place in it.

Environmental engineering

a branch of engineering that aims to improve the quality of the environment and promotes protection of people from adverse environmental effects like pollution.

Mission of environmental engineers

to improve recycling, waste disposal, public health, and water and air pollution control (Lucas, 2014)

Ecology

defined as the scientific study of relationships between organisms and their environment.

Carbon-based (organic) compounds

The foundations of organisms

Matter

Everything that takes up space and has mass

Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma

Four states of matter

Plasma

A state of matter consisting of free charged particles. 

Conservation of Matter

“Matter is neither created nor destroyed, rather, it is recycled over and over again.”

Conservation of Matter

explains that the components of environmental systems are intricately connected, that is all matter comes from somewhere, and all waste goes somewhere

Elements

Substances that cannot be broken down into simpler forms by ordinary chemical reactions.

OXYGEN, CARBON, HYDROGEN, NITROGEN

Four Elements responsible for more than 96% of the mass of most living organisms

ATOMS

Smallest particles that exhibit the characteristics of an element.

Protons and neutrons

have approximately the same mass and they are clustered in the nucleus in the center of the atom.

Electrons

are smaller compared to the other particles. They orbit the nucleus at the speed of light.

Atomic number

the characteristic number of protons per atom.

Atomic mass

the sum of protons and neutrons

Isotopes

forms of an element that differ in atomic mass

Compounds

substances composed of different kinds of atoms.
Example: Sodium Chloride (NaCl)

Molecules

a pair or group of atoms that can exist as a single unit. Example: Molecular oxygen (O2 )

ions

When atoms gain or lose electrons, it acquires a negative or positive electrical charge. Charged atoms are called

anions, cations

two types of ion

Anions

Negatively charged ions. Example: Chlorine (Cl) readily gains electrons, forming chlorine ions (Cl − ).

Cations

Positively charged. Example: A hydrogen (H) atom can give up its sole electron to become a hydrogen ion (H + ).

Acids

are substances that readily give up hydrogen ions in water.

Bases

substances that readily bond with H + ions.

pH

describes the strength of an acid and base

organic compounds

the foundation of living organisms.

lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids

Four major categories of organic compounds in living things

Lipids

major category of organic compounds that includes fats and oils

Carbohydrates

major category of organic compounds that includes sugars, starches, and cellulose

Proteins

major category of organic compounds that is composed of chains of subunits called amino acids

Nucleic acids

major category of organic compounds and is a complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA

Nucleotides

carry information between cells, tissues, and organs and the sources of intracellular energy

ribo nucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA)

long chains formed by nucleotides that are essential for storing and expressing genetic information.

adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine

Four kinds of nucleotides that occur in DNA

Cells

Minute compartments within which the processes of life are carried out

Cells

All living organisms are composed of

single celled organisms

Bacteria, some algae, and protozoa are

Enzymes

are a special class of proteins that carry out all the chemical reactions required to create various structures. They also provide energy and materials to carry out cell functions, dispose of wastes, and perform other functions of life at the cellular level

Enzymes

are molecular catalysts because they regulate chemical reactions without being used up or inactivated in the process

Metabolism

is the multitude of enzymatic reactions performed by an organism.

Energy

The ability to do work, such as moving matter over a distance or causing a heat transfer between two objects at different temperatures.

Kinetic energy, potential energy, chemical energy, heat

types of energy

Kinetic Energy

energy contained in moving objects

Potential Energy

stored energy that is dormant but available for use.

Chemical Energy

stored in the food that you eat and the gasoline that you put into your car

Heat

the energy that can be transferred between objects of different temperatures.

One Joule

is the work done when one kg is accelerated at one meter per second per second.

One calorie

is the amount of energy needed to heat one gram of pure water one degree Celsius

a calorie

can also be measured as 4.184 J

thermodynamics

A study that deals with the transfer of energy in natural processes.

thermodynamics

It deals with the rates of flow and the transformation of energy from one form or quality to another

First law of thermodynamics

States that energy is conserved. It is neither created nor destroyed under normal conditions.

Second law of thermodynamics

States that, with each successive energy transfer or transformation in a system, less energy is available to do work. Energy is degraded to lower-quality forms, or it dissipates and is lost, as it is used.

extremophiles

organisms that have been discovered on Earth that survive in environments that were once thought not to be able to sustain life

Chemosynthesis

is the process in which bacteria use chemical bonds between inorganic elements, such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or hydrogen gas (H2), to provide energy for synthesis of organic molecules.

Solar Energy

Essential to life

Photosynthesis

converts radiant energy into high-quality chemical energy in the bonds that hold together organic molecules.

species

refers to all organisms of the same kind that are genetically similar enough to breed in nature and produce live, fertile offspring.

population

consists of all the members of a species living in a given area at the same time.

Biological Community

All of the populations living and interacting in a particular area

Ecosystem (Ecological system)

is composed of a biological community and its physical environment.

Abiotic factors

nonliving components such as climate, water, minerals, and sunlight

Biotic factors

examples are organisms and their products (secretions, wastes, and remains) and effects in a given area

Productivity

● One of the major properties of an ecosystem.
● The amount of biomass (biological matter) produced in a given area during a given period of time.

Primary productivity, secondary productivity

Two types of productivity

Primary Productivity

e.g. photosynthesis, because it is the basis for almost all other growth in an ecosystem.

Secondary Productivity

manufacture of biomass by organisms that eat plants

Food chain

A linked feeding series.

Food web

Interconnection of individual food chains.

Trophic level

● From the Greek trophe which means “food”.
● An organism’s feeding status in an ecosystem.

producers

Organisms that photosynthesize, mainly green plants and algae

consumers

Organisms that consume the chemical energy harnessed by the producers

Herbivores

plant eaters, e.g. goat, cow, horse, grasshopper, etc.

Carnivores

flesh eaters, e.g. lion, hyena, caracal, wolf, etc

Omnivores

eat both plant and animal matter, e.g. man

scavengers

Organisms that clean up dead carcasses of larger animals such as crows, jackals, and vultures.

detritivores

Consume litter, debris, and dung such as ants and beetles.

decomposer

● Organisms that complete the final breakdown and recycling of organic materials such as fungi and bacteria.
● These microorganisms are second in importance to producers because without their activity nutrients would remain locked-up in the organic compounds of dead organisms and discarded body wastes, rather than being made available to successive generations of organisms.

ecological pyramids

A graphical representation of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem.

Pyramid of numbers, Pyramid of biomass, Pyramid of productivity

TYPES OF ECOLOGICAL PYRAMIDS

Pyramid of numbers

Presents the number of organisms in each trophic level without any consideration for their size. Unit: number of organisms

Pyramid of biomass

● Presents the total mass of organisms at each trophic level.
● This type of pyramid is largest at the bottom and gets smaller going up, but exceptions do exist.
● The biomass of one trophic level is calculated by multiplying the number of individuals in the trophic level by the average mass of one individual in a particular area.
● Unit: g/m2 or Kg/m-2.

Pyramid of productivity

● Presents the total amount of energy present at each trophic level, as well as the loss of energy between trophic levels.
● The most widely used type of ecological pyramid. Unlike the two other types, this can never be largest at the apex and smallest at the bottom.
● It’s an important type of ecological pyramid because it examines the flow of energy in an ecosystem over time.
● Unit: J/m2.yr1

water cycle

distributes water among the atmosphere, biosphere, surface, and groundwater.

HYDROLOGIC CYCLE

● The path of water through our environment.
● The most familiar material cycle.

water

responsible for metabolic processes within cells, for maintaining the flows of key nutrients through the ecosystem and for global-scale distribution of heat and energy

Evaporation

As water is heated by the sun, surface molecules become sufficiently energized to break free of the attractive force binding them together, and then evaporate and rise as invisible vapor in the atmosphere.

Transpiration

Water vapor is also emitted from plant leaves by a process called

Condensation

As water vapor rises, it cools and eventually condenses, usually on tiny particles of dust in the air. When it condenses it becomes a liquid again or turns directly into a solid (ice, hail or snow). These water particles then collect and form clouds.

Precipitation

in the form of rain, snow and hail comes from clouds. Clouds move around the world, propelled by air currents. For instance, when they rise over mountain ranges, they cool, becoming so saturated with water that water begins to fall as rain, snow or hail, depending on the temperature of the surrounding air

Runoff

● Excessive rain or snowmelt can produce overland flow to creeks and ditches
● is the visible flow of water in rivers, creeks and lakes as the water stored in the basin drains out

Percolation

Some of the precipitation and snow melt moves downwards, percolates or infiltrates through cracks, joints and pores in soil and rocks until it reaches the water table where it becomes groundwater.

Groundwater

Subterranean water is held in cracks and pore spaces. Depending on the geology, it can flow to support streams. It can also be tapped by wells. Some of it is very old and may have been there for thousands of years

Water table

is the level at which water stands in a shallow well.

carbon cycle

begins with the intake of carbon dioxide by photosynthetic organisms. Carbon (and hydrogen and oxygen) atoms are incorporated into sugar molecules during photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is eventually released during respiration, closing the cycle. It is of special interest because biological accumulation and release of carbon is a major factor in climate regulation.

IV, II, I, III

Carbon Cycle Steps (arrange)

I. Animals feed on the plants. Thus, passing the carbon compounds along the food chain. Most of the carbon these animals consume however is exhaled as carbon dioxide. This is through the process of respiration. The animals and plants then eventually die

II. Carbon dioxide is absorbed by producers (life forms that make their own food e.g. plants) to make carbohydrates in photosynthesis. These producers then put off oxygen

III. The dead organisms (dead animals and plants) are eaten by decomposers in the ground. The carbon that was in their bodies is then returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. In some circumstances the process of decomposition is prevented. The decomposed plants and animals may then be available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion.

IV. Carbon enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide from respiration (breathing) and combustion (burning).

Nitrogen gas (N₂)

make up 78% of our atmosphere; can be fixed by bacteria, cyanobacteria, some marine algae.