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Scienceform2Interpendenceamonglivingorganisms
SCIENCE - FORM 2
7. A community is formed when a few populations of different types of animals and plants live a
habitat. An example of a community is the population of animals ( fish ) and plants ( weeds ) living
together, interacting and influencing each other in a pond.
8. An ecosystem is formed when a community of living organisms in a habitat interacts with one
another as well as with the non-living environment.
9. An ecosystem consist of the living or biotic components in the environment.
10. The biotic components in an ecosystem are plants, animals and microorganisms.
11. The non-living components of an ecosystem or abiotic components consist of water, gases, light,
soil, temperature and rocks.
12. The eco-balance of the environment is closely related to the oxygen cycle, carbon dioxide cycle,
nitrogen cycle and food web.
13. Human beings are part of the ecosystem because they depend on living things and non-living
things in order to survive. If the ecosystem is interrupted, human lives will also be disturbed
14. A few elements in an ecosystem need to be maintained in order to keep the ecosystem balance :
(a) The size of each population.
(b) The composition of gases in air, water and soil.
(c) The composition of mineral salts in the soil.
15. The biotic and abiotic components are interdependent with one another to create a balanced
ecosystem which changes only slighly over time.
Interaction in an environment
1. Living things interact with each other and with non-living things in order to survive.
2. The interaction between living things and non-living things lead to balance in an ecosystem.
3. The example of interaction between living things and non-living things is shown below.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
Aquatic plants obtain mineral salts from the soil in the pond.
Aquatic animals depend on aquatic plants to supply oxygen for the process of respiration.
Aquatic plants depend on aquatic animals to obtain carbon dioxide for photosyntesis.
Small fishes and tadpoles eat aquatic plants.
Big fishes eat small fishes.
Kingfisher eats fish.
Water lettuce, water hyacinth, lotus and land plants obtain sunlight for the process of
photosyntesis.
4. Examples of animals taht live on other animals to obtain food that fall out of the host's mouth, as
well as for shelter and transport are
(a) barnacles that live on the shells of crabs, cockles or snails
(b) remora fish that live on a shark
Parasitism
1. Parasitism is another type of interaction between two organism. Only one organism benefits. The
other organism is negatively or adversely affected.
2. A parasite is the organism that lives on or inside the other organism. The host is the organism on
which the parasite lives.
3. The host is negatively affected by this interaction. The parasite may even kill the host.
4. A parasite obtains food, shelter and transport from the host.
5. For example, a tick that lives on a host feeds on the host's blood.
6. Other examples are
(a) stem borers and oil palm leaves
(b) tree barnacles and trees
(c) aphids and mustard plants
Mutualism
1. Mutualism is an interaction betwee two different organisms that live together in which both
organisms benefit. They obtain nutrition and shelter from each other.
2. For example,
(a) sea anemone and hermit crab
(i) The sea anemone has tentacles that can sting, and protects the hermit crab with them.
(ii) The sea anemone obtains transport and food ( food bits that drop ) from the hermit crab.
(b) ox peckers and buffaloes
Ox peckers eat the ticks and leeches that feed on buffaloes.
7. Another example of competition occurs between Paramecium aurelia and Paramecium caudatum.
FOOD WEBS
Producer, consumers and decomposers
1. Producers are all green plants that make food through photosynthesis.
2. Consumers are animals that eat plants or other animals.
3. Decomposers are organism that decompose dead organism ( animals or plants ) and change them
into simple substances. Examples of decomposers are bacteria and fungi.
4. The sun is the main source of energy for all living organisms in a food chain.
Food chains
1. A food chain is an energy link showing how energy in food is passed from plants ( producers ) to
animals ( consumers ).
2. A food chain shows the interaction of several organisms with each other.
3. When the organisms in a food chain die, they are decomposed by decomposers such as bacteria
and fungi, into simple minerals.
Food webs
1. A food web consists of several food chains that are interlinked.
2. The organisms in a food web interact with each other.
1. A pyramid of numbers shows the number of organisms at each link of the food chain.
2. From the base of the pyramid to the top,
(a) the number of organisms decrease
(b) the size of the organisms increase
(c) more energy is lost
3. Producers' number is the most and forms the base of the pyramid.
4. The number of producers is always greater than the number of primary consumers in order to
provide sufficient food to the primary consumers.
5. The number of primary producers is greater than the number of secondary producers. Therefore,
primary producers make up the second level of the pyramid, the level above the producers.
6. Secondary producers make up the third level of the pyramid. Tertiary consumers make up the
fourth level of the pyramid and so on.
7. The final consumers are at the apex of the pyramid and are the least in number.
8. The flow of energy in a pyramid of numbers is the same as in a food chain.The flow of energy is a food web and pyramid of
numbers
1. Green plants supply energy in the form of food, either directly or indirectly, to all organisms in a
community.
2. The flow of energy in a food web and the pyramid of numbers starts with the producers and moves
to the consumers.
3. However, not all the energy in a producer is transferred to consumers.
4. Some energy is lost as heat when the organism carries out its life processes such as respiration,
reproduction, excreation and growth.Disturbances in the ecosystem
1. The numbers of organisms in an ecosystem must be maintained at equilibrium to ensure that all
organisms have sufficient food supply. This situation will ensure that the balance of nature in an
ecosystem is maintained.
2. Disturbances at any level of a pyramid of numbers will cause the equilibrium in a food chain to be
disrubted. The number or organisms at each level of a pyramid of numbers will not be balanced.
For example, if all the frogs in the area are captured.
(a) the number of snakes will decrease because of a shortage of food.
(b) the number of caterpillars will increase because of a shortage of predators.
(c) the number of leaves will decrease because of the increase in caterpillars.
3. The increase or decrease in the number of organisms will affect the equilibrium of the ecosystem.
4. All living organisms in an ecosystem depend on one another. If one group of organisms is removed,
the balance of nature will be disturbed.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
1. Photosynthesis is an a process that occurs in green plants, in which food is made from water and
carbon dioxide in the presence of cholophyll and sunlight.
The leaf becomes dark blue when tested with iodine solution.
1. The leaf pieces are boiled in water to kill the cells abd break the cell walls.
2. The leaf pieces are boiled in alcohol to remove chlorophyll.
3. The leaf pieces are soaked in hot water to soften them.
4. Plants store food in the form of starch in leaves.
1. Two potted plants are placed in the dark for two days.
2. The apparatus as shown in the Figure above is prepared. The apparatus is placed under the sun for
two hours.
3. A leaf is plucked from each plant and tested for the presence of starch.
4. The observations are recorded in the table.
1. The green plant in apparatus A carried out photosynthesis. It produced starch in the presence of
carbon dioxide.
2. The green plant in apparatus B did not carry out photosynthesis because there was no carbon
dioxide in the air in the bell jar.
3. Both plants were placed in the dark for two days before the experiment to remove starch from the
plant.
4. The sodium hydroxide solution absorbed carbon dioxide from the air.
1. The green plant in apparatus A did not carry out photosynthesis because no water was supplied.
2. The green plant in apparatus B carried out photosynthesis as water was supplied.
3. Water is absorbed by the plant through the roots.
1. The green parts of the left have chlorophyll, which enables the plant to carry out photosynthesis.
2. The equation that represents photosynthesis is :
5. The following is a summary of the processes that are involved in the carbon dioxide and oxygen
cycles.
10. All our needs can only be obtained continously, and over a long period of time, if the ecosystem is
stable and productive.
11. Before starting on a project, we should carefully plan the project with full responsibility, so as to
avoid adversely disturbing any member of the ecosystem, including ourselves.
Environmental issues
Human activities cause pollution and have raised the following environmental issues :
(a) the greenhouse effect
(b) the thinning of the ozone layer.
(c) acid rain.
The greenhouse effect
1. The green house effect occurs because a layer of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere prevents a
portion of head from escaping to outer space.
2. The greenhouse effect raises Earth's temperature. This is known as global warming. This
phenomena causes changes in the weather and climate the world over.
3. Climatic change as a result of global warming causes the melting of icebergs in both poles. The sea
level increases and this results in the flooding of low-lying coastal areas.
2. Chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons ( CFCs ) are used in the manufacture of aerosol sprays,
refrigerators and air conditioners. These chemicals are pollutants that break down ozone
molecules in the ozone layer.
3. As a result, the ozone layer has thinned. Ultraviolet rays that reach the Earth as a result have
adversely affected human health by causing :
(a) skin cancer.
(b) cataracts.
(c) the immune system to function improperly.
Acid rain
1. Gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide dissolve in rainwater and form acid rain.
2. Acid rain can
(a) destroy the habitats of living things
(b) lower the soil pH value and make it unsuitable for plants. River water that is polluted by acid
rain is no longer suitable for aquatic organisms.
Controlling environmental pollution
1. Managing environmental pollution can save our Earth.
2. The following are steps we can take to reduce environmental pollution.
(a) use unleaded petrol
(b) make nuclear testing illegal
(c) create special places to burn rubbish
(d) tighten laws regarding the disposal of toxic waste from factories
(e) fix catalytic converters on the exhaust pipes of vehicles to reduce the emission of dangerous
gases
(f) stop the use of chlorofluorocarbons ( CFCs ) by replacing it with hydrochloroflourocarbons
( HCFCs )
(g) fix equipment to clean the air that dissolves toxic and acidic gases before releasing them into
the atmosphere.
(h) create special places for the disposal of toxic chemical waste from factories
3. An ecosystem that is stable and productive supplies all our needs. Therefore we should be
responsible for ensuring that nature always remains in balance.
CONSERVATION AND