science wa1

• Actions that negatively affect the environment include wasting food, using more electricity and water than needed, and creating excessive waste
• Improper disposal of waste can pollute the air, water, and land, leading to the production of greenhouse and toxic gases
• Reducing the use of fossil fuels, consumption, and introducing environmentally friendly practices are actions that conserve the environment
• Reforestation is an important action to protect soil, store carbon, and reduce carbon emissions
• Coral reefs are affected by physical factors like light, temperature, air, water, minerals, and acidity/alkalinity in their environment

  
• Rising ocean temperatures pose a significant threat to the survival of coral reefs
• Different environments are distinguished by physical factors such as light, temperature, air, water, minerals, and acidity or alkalinity
• Light availability determines the kinds of plants and animals found in a habitat
• Temperature affects the activities of all organisms, with low temperatures slowing down plant growth and animal circulation
• All organisms need water to survive, and the volume of water in a place depends on the rainfall it receives
• Mineral salts are crucial for the production of chlorophyll and nutrients in plants and animals
• pH levels in habitats affect the survival of organisms, with most organisms unable to survive in extremely acidic or alkaline environments
• Structural adaptations are physical characteristics of an organism that help it to survive in its habitat

  
• Structural adaptations can be triggered by changes in the environment that require organisms to adapt
• Behavioural adaptations refer to the different behaviors of an organism that allow it to survive in its habitat
• When environmental conditions change, organisms that are unable to survive under the new conditions will die, while those that can survive will reproduce, passing on their adaptive traits to their offspring
• Adaptive traits can be structural or behavioral, helping organisms to survive and reproduce in their specific environment
• In a habitat, the survival of an organism depends on the physical and biotic environment, with organisms interacting in various ways to maintain balance
• Predation is a biological interaction where one organism (predator) hunts and feeds on another organism (prey), with population levels intertwined
• Mutualism is a relationship where two organisms benefit from each other, like butterflies feeding on nectar from flowers and aiding in pollination
• Parasitism is a relationship where one organism (parasite) benefits at the expense of the other (host), like dodder plants absorbing nutrients from their host plants
• Commensalism is a relationship where one species benefits and the other is unaffected, like remoras attaching to sharks for transport without affecting the shark
• Green plants are producers, making food through photosynthesis, while animals are consumers, obtaining energy by feeding on plants or other animals
• Energy transfer in ecosystems involves the flow of energy and nutrients from one organism to another
• Food chains represent the feeding relationships between organisms and show how energy is transferred from one organism to another
• A food chain always begins with a producer and each stage is known as a trophic level
• In natural ecosystems, complex feeding relationships called food webs exist, made of inter-linked food chains where each organism may be part of several food chains
• As energy is transferred in a food chain, the amount of energy transferred gradually decreases due to energy loss at each stage (trophic level)
• Energy may be lost as thermal energy during respiration, chemical energy in uneaten parts, or in excretory waste removed by consumers
• The progressive loss of energy explains why food chains are generally short and ecosystems require a constant influx of energy from the sun
• Nutrients in producers are transferred to consumers, then to their predators, and decomposers recycle nutrients back into the environment
• Carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen are essential nutrients that are continually recycled in a balanced ecosystem
• The carbon cycle involves the constant removal and release of carbon dioxide into the environment, maintaining a relatively constant concentration
• The balance of an ecosystem can be upset by introducing new animals and plants, disease outbreaks, or human activities like deforestation and over-fishing
• Improperly disposed plastics can end up in water bodies, break down into microplastics, and accumulate in marine organisms, eventually transferring to other organisms like humans
• Air contains gases necessary for organisms to live, with polluted water having less dissolved oxygen, leading to less organisms in that area