WHAT IS ENVIRONMENT?
According to Dr. Y.K. Singh, author of the book New Age
- Environmental Science environment consists of surroundings which includes abiotic
(non-living) and biotic (living) environments
.
Environment
- refers to the land, air and water along with other living organisms.
- can be studied by interpreting the knowledge from all the disciplines.
Global environment constitutes important segment that is:
- Atmosphere
-mixture of gasses, provide us with air
-nitrogen, oxygen and argon are major gasses which account for 99% of air
-AIR
- Hydrosphere
-consists of sea, ocean, rivers, glaciers, lakes, reservoirs, polar ice caps, and
shallow water.
-total amount of water on a planet
-BODIES OF WATER
- Lithosphere
-the crust, mantle and upper mantle
-THE LAND/GROUND
● Over exploitation of natural resources may lead to starvation for resources and can
create an environment which is not suitable for living organisms,
INTERNAL/EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
- The environment of the person includes the physical, emotional, cultural, psychological
and political stimulation from the time he was conceived until the time of his death.
- Other writers such as Douglas and Holland defined the environment as the influence of
external stimuli which affects the character of the organism..
WHY IS ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IMPORTANT?
The importance of studying about environment enables people to protect and conserve natural
resources given by mother earth and stop its destruction
Environmental studies have become pertinent because of the following reasons:
● Global Environmental Issues
- pollution
- ozone layer depletion
- require global attention and individual cooperation
● Industrialization and Development
- Industrialization greatly affects the environment whereas development leads to
the increasing growth of modernization, urbanization that contributes to pollution.
- (mountains become subdivision)
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: HOW THE NATURAL WORLD WORKS
Environment Impacts Humans
_Goal: developing solutions to environmental problems
_An interdisciplinary field
- Natural sciences: information about the natural world
-Environmental Science programs
-Social sciences: study human interactions and behavior
WHAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM?
According to E.P. Odum (2004), an american ecologist
- An ecosystem is the basic functional unit of an organism and their environment
interacting with each other and their own components. It includes all organisms that live
in a particular place, plus the abiotic environment in which they live and interact.
- Example: Grassland, Forest, Aquarium, Pond, Lake, River and Ocean
Structure of an Ecosystem
1. The composition of biological community including species, numbers, biomass, life,
history and distribution in space.
2. The quantity and distribution of non-living materials like nutrients, water ctc
3. The structure of the ecosystem is characterized by the organization of the biotic and
abiotic components.
4. The range condition for existence such as temperature such as temperature, light, etc.
ECOSYSTEM
- The term ecosystem was first coined by A.G. Tansley
- consist of two worlds:
Types of Ecosystem
Ecosystem
Terrestrial Aquatic
example: forest, grassland, and dessert example: pond, lake, wetland, river and
estuary
*estuary is the connection of river and sea
and mix of salted and unsalted
Structure of Ecosystem
Ecosystem
Abiotic Biotic
(non-living) (living)
example: soil, water, light, inorganic nutrients example: producers and consumers
and weather
FUNCTIONS OF AN ECOSYSTEM (Process)
Ecosystem have functional attributes which keep the component parts running together
- Green leaves prepare food and roots absorb nutrients from the soil (photosynthesis)
- Herbivore feed on part of the plant production in turn serve as food for Carnivores
- Decomposers break down complex organic materials into simple inorganic products
which can be used by the producers. (bacteria, viruses, microscopic organisms)
ENERGY FLOW
- The flow of energy is one way direction from producer to consumers, and ends in
decomposition process
- However, a part of the energy is lost as heat
- agrees with the phenomenon of the second law of Thermodynamics.
THERMODYNAMICS
- is a branch of physics that deals with the laws governing the energy and work of a
system, which may be described as the exchange of heat energy within a given system.
- Careful study of these concepts is essential for good understanding of topics in
thermodynamics.
- Specifically, it defines macroscopic variables, such as:
-internal energy, entropy, and pressure.
What is thermodynamics?
- The science of energy, that concerned with the ways in which energy is stored within a
body.
- Energy transformations - mostly involve heat and work movements.
- The fundamental law: conservation of energy
-Conversion of energy principle: energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can
only be transformed from one form to another.
Different KInds of Energy
- Potential Energy
- Kinetic Energy (law of motion)
- Chemical Energy ()
LAWS OF ENERGY
“energy is neither created nor destroyed"
To scientists, conservation of energy does not mean saving energy.
Instead, the law of conservation of energy says that
- energy is neither created nor destroyed.
- When people use energy, it doesn't disappear.
- Energy changes from one form of energy into another form of energy.
Energy
- is the ability to make things change.
- is measured in the same units as work because energy is transferred during the action of
work
A system that has energy has the ability to work
The law of conservation of energy
- Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but can be transformed to other forms.
- This law can be dissected into 3 statements;
-Energy cannot be created.
-Energy cannot be destroyed.
-It can only be converted from one form to another
- The first/fundamental law of thermodynamics
CONVERSION OF ENERGY
- The first/fundamental law of thermodynamics
- Energy of an object can be thought OF as the sands in an hourglass!
- Energy always remains the same or fixed in quantity!
*But this sand can change position, from the top to bottom and bottom to top. Likewise energy
can change in form eg. From KE <--> PE
Energy of Conversion
- Energy can be changed from one form to another. Changes in the form of energy are
called energy conversions.
- The sun's energy through solar cells can be converted directly into electricity.
- Green plants convert the sun's energy (electromagnetic) into starches and
sugars (chemical energy).
LAW OF ENTROPY
- The second law of thermodynamics
- states that "as one goes forward in time, the net entropy (degree of disorder) of
any isolated or closed system will always increase (or at least stay the same)."
- Entropy is simply a measure of disorder and affects all aspects of our daily lives
- anything new becomes old
- hindi nag stastay as new, pababa, degrate
- anything pure becomes impure
WHAT ARE NATURAL RESOURCES
- Natural resources occur naturally within environments
- Natural resources are often characterized by amounts of biodiversity and geodiversity
existent in various ecosystems.
- Any material which is part of earth and satisfies human needs and adds value is called a
resource.
Example: rocks, minerals| soil, rivers, plants & animal,
- Human is a resource because developing his skill, he can develop other resource by
adding value to the physical material
Value of Natural Resources
● Economic value- Production of things from natural resources
● Legal value- value- Clean air, Fresh water, healthy animals and human beings
● Aesthetic value - Beauty of village roads, ponds and their agricultural fields
Types of Natural resource
● BIOTIC
- Resources which are living in nature
Example; Forests ,Animals etc
● A BIOTIC
- Resources which are non-living in nature.
Example: Air , Water etc.
● OTHERS RENEWABLE;
- Resources which can be replenished easily.
Example: Sunlight
Forest
Solar Light
Soil/Land Resources
Water Resources
Animals
Uses of Natural Resource
Natural Resources Uses
Air (Wind) Required for all living things for breathing, Use to produce
wind energy.
Animals / Plants Provido food, cloth, shelter, medicine. Used as a mode of
transport. Animal dung , can be
used as fuel/fertilizer.
Soil used as the primary nutrient source for plants. It is the
habitat of many organisms
Solar Light Provide light, energy and help to plants for making their
foods
Wood/Tree Used as construction material. Used to make
utensils, furniture and sporting equipments.
Water Used in household, agriculture and transportation.
