MATTER & ENERGY UNIT
CP BIOLOGY 2008-09
By the end of this unit, students should know or be able to do:
1. Distinguish between energy transfer in a system and how matter is recycled.
2. Identify the reactants, products, and basic purposes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
3. Explain the interrelated nature of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cells of
photosynthetic organisms.
4. Be able to explain the carbon cycle and its relevance to producers and consumers.
5. Explain how the respiratory system (nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, lungs, alveoli) provides
exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
6. Explain how oxygen and carbon cycle through photosynthesis and respiration.
7. Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and decomposers, and explain
the transfer of energy through trophic levels.
How you will be graded on this test.
The test for this unit will consist of one of the following three essays relying on the food web attached and
20 multiple choice questions. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their answers in class the day
the assignment is due. On the test date, one essay will be chosen at random. When the essay has been
chosen, you will have:


5 minutes to copy down any notes on the question chosen
40 - 50 minutes to write an answer to the essay question and answer the multiple choice
questions
Each part of the essay question will be graded as Excellent, Competent, Not Competent, or Failed. Each
section will be worth 20 points for a total of 40 points in addition to the multiple choice section which
will be worth 20 points (1 point per question).
1.
a. Design an experiment to test the following hypothesis: Plants placed in sunlight will produce
more O2 than plants placed in the shade. Identify the various parts of your experiment
(independent variable, dependent variable, control and constants). Make sure your
experiment is clear and well thought out.
b. Draw a graph that would represent the change in carbon dioxide over time. Explain (using
chemical equations) why you would predict this graph.
2. Use the text pages 421-422 to answer this question. Think of yourself as a carbon atom. Give the
“life story” of the carbon atom in this food web. Required words to use in this answer are:
photosynthesis, chlorophyll, glucose, cellular respiration, energy and ATP. You must include
the chemical equations for photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
a. You begin your story in the atmosphere as part of a CO2 molecule. Write a description of how
you become part of a producer. Be sure and explain what molecule you are a part of and the
process that puts you there. Explain how you become part of a consumer and how the consumer
transfers your stored energy and returns you to the atmosphere. Be sure and explain where your
energy goes.
b. Give evidence from a lab that demonstrates the recycling of the carbon atom in nature. Explain
the results.
3. Use the text, pages 417-418 to answer this question. A biology student doing research collects the
following information about feeding relationships in an Antarctic ecosystem.
An Antarctic Ecosystem
Diatoms photosynthesize
Phytoplankton photosynthesize
Krill eat diatoms
Squid eat krill
Leopard seals eat emperor penguins
Emperor penguins eat squid
Killer whales eat Weddell seals
Blue whales eat krill
Weddell seals eat squid
Leopard seals eat Weddell seals
Killer whales eat leopard seals
a. Use these notes to construct a food web of this ecosystem. In your food web, identify one
organism at each of the following trophic levels: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer,
and higher-order consumer. Identify an herbivore, omnivore, and carnivore.
b. Explain how matter is different than energy. Explain what happens to matter in the ecosystem and
what happens to energy in the ecosystem.