The Carbon Cycle
1. Animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide
2. Producers (plants) take in carbon dioxide (CO2)
from the air during photosynthesis.
3. Producers use carbon dioxide to make food
(sugar).
4. Consumers eat producers and take in carbon
molecules.
5. Consumers release CO2 as waste product (by
breathing) **cycle starts over again.
The Oxygen Cycle
1. Producers (plants) release
oxygen during photosynthesis
2. Consumers breathe in oxygen to
perform life functions.
The Carbon and Oxygen Cycles
Plants take in CO2
and release O2
Animals take in
O2 and release
CO2
Plants also use carbon to make
sugars which animals consume.
#6 The Nitrogen Cycle
1. The air around us contains 78%
nitrogen gas but we cannot use it
2. We rely on bacteria in the soil to “fix”
the nitrogen so we can use it.
3. Plants use nitrogen in the soil to grow.
4. Consumers eat plants containing
nitrogen.
5. Decomposers return nitrogen to soil
again when animals eliminate waste or
organisms die.
I. The Water Cycle
The water cycle recycles Earth’s
water.
The cycle moves the water from
Earth’s surface to the atmosphere
and back.
Purifies our water.
Condensation
Precipitation
Evaporation
1. Evaporation – liquid water turns into
water vapor (a gas). The energy for
evaporation comes from the sun.
2. Condensation – Water vapor (gas) in
the atmosphere cools down and turns
into liquid water. *Clouds form when
water droplets collect around dust
particles.
3. Precipitation – Water droplets fall
from clouds as rain, sleet, snow, and
hail.
Earth’s Natural Resources
Some resources can be replaced and
reused by nature; these are
renewable resources.
Natural resources that cannot be
replaced by nature are
nonrenewable resources.
Renewable Resources
1. AIR is recycled and purified
through the carbon and oxygen
cycles.
2. The WATER cycle allows Earth’s
water to be used over and over.
3. New SOIL is formed to replace
soil that has been carried away
by wind and water.
Renewable Resources Cont.
4. Trees and other new plants grow to
replace those that have been cut down
or died.
5. Animals are born to replace animals
that have died.
6. Sunlight, or solar energy, is considered
a renewable resource because it will
continue to be available for billions of
years on Earth.
Non-Renewable Resources
ENERGY
Once energy is used it is gone
forever.
EXAMPLES:
1. Gas/oil
(fossil fuels)
2. Food
Conservation of Resources
1. Reduce – use alternatives (riding
bike versus driving car)
2. Reuse – use resource again – plastic
water bottles vs. water from sink
3. Recycle – reprocess an item to use
again – paper
4. Protect – prevent loss of resource
(living things) ex: endangered
species, wildlife preserves.
Surface water - water that stays above ground (run off,
lakes, streams, and rivers).
Aeration Pores are filled with AIR,
water does not stay here.
Water Table – top of
zone of saturation.
Ground water – water
that soaks into the
ground
Lake (surface water)
Saturation Water fills all of the available
pore space
Underground layer where water is stored
Impermeable – water CANNOT pass through
The area between the zone of aeration
(air) and the saturated zone is known
as the water table.
(drainage basin) -area drained by a river
Separate watersheds.
where all the small rivers and streams empty
into.
*Deltas create Where the river ends its
journey into a large body
unique
ecosystems. of water.
Watershed/ Drainage Basin
Can be lake, pond or ocean.
Can be Mountain ridges or hills
Rain water falls on either side
and drains down.
Deltas –
Can be lake or ocean.
Floodplains –
When a river floods, new sediment is
deposited on the land enriching the
area with new soil. The new soil is
nutrient rich, allowing new crops or
vegetation to grow.
Greenville
Laurens
Newberry
Pickens
Greenwood
Saluda
Saluda watershed covers 1.6 million acres
Includes 12 counties
Watersheds
In South Carolina, watersheds are
located within eight major river
basins:
1. Broad River
2. Catawba
3. Edisto
4. Salkahatchie
5. Saluda
6. Santee
7. Savannah
8. Pee Dee
Study Guide-copy questions
1. What are the 4 layers of soil?
Litter, Topsoil, Subsoil, Bedrock
2. A soil layer is also called a
horizon.
3. Which soil layer provides nutrients
for plant growth?
Topsoil
4. The term that describes how easily
water passes through soil is
Permeability
5. Which layer of soil contains dead
things (like leaves and grass)?
Litter
6. Which layer of soil is made up of
mostly rock?
Bedrock
7. What happens to water as it moves
through layers of soil.
it is cleaned
8. What is weathering?
Breaking down of rocks
9. What are the three steps of the
water cycle?
Evaporation, Condensation,
Precipitation **Know Definitions
10. List 2 reasons why the water cycle is
important.
Recycles Earth’s water, cleans water
11. Animals breathe out carbon dioxide
and plants take it in to make food
during a process called
photosynthesis. In return, plants
release clean oxygen for animals to
breathe in.
12. What are the 4 conservations
methods?
reduce, reuse, recycle and protect
13. An example of NON renewable
resource is
oil, energy
14. Things that come from Earth that we
can use are called
Natural Resources
15. List 5 examples of renewable
resources.
water, carbon, oxygen, living things,