Ecocolumn Project
Sarah Huang
Alejandro Reyes
Kyle Bilorusky
Izzy Carranza-Aliakbar
Ecocolum
Everything in the world is connected from the water cycle to the sun.The water cycle describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface. The nitrogen cycle is when nitrogen is converted into various chemical forms.The phosphorus cycle describes the movement of phosphorus through the hydrosphere, lithosphere and the biosphere. The sulfur cycle is the process in which the movement of sulfur to and from minerals and living systems. The carbon cycle is how carbon is exchange among the pedosphere, geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and the atmosphere. HIPPO or Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species, Population, Pollution, Overharvesting (factors endangering species) is an important part in environmental science.
Everything in the universe is made out of many atoms which contain subatomic particles. The atmosphere contains 5 spheres which are either located on the upper, middle or lower atmosphere. The troposphere is in the lower atmosphere and its where weather forms. The stratosphere and mesosphere are located in the middle of the atmosphere. In the stratosphere the ozone layer floats and in the mesosphere where shooting stars blaze. Thermosphere and exosphere is located in the upper part of the atmosphere. The thermosphere is where the temperature rises and in the exosphere air dwindles to nothing since things are drifted into space. The soil contains about 5 layers. There’s humus, topsoil (A horizon), Subsoil (B horizon), weathered or decomposed rock (C horizon) and bedrock (R horizon). Conservation of matter is a fundamental principle of classical physics where matter cannot be created or destroyed. Matter cycles by many cycles but there are 5 that matter the most. There are Hydrological cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle, sulfur cycle and carbon cycle. The carbon cycle is where carbon is made of all living things. Carbon is also part of the ocean, air, and even rock. Carbon does not stay still it moves. Plants used carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food. Carbon dioxide is greenhouse gases and it traps heat in the atmosphere. Living things interact with each other by many ways such as a source of food, reproduction and in other ways. Energy flows in an ecosystem by sunlight (low-energy waves) and organisms use it in different ways like photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. The 10% rule is where energy from one trophic level send to the next one.
The purpose of this project is to show how everything connects to life. The ecocolumn represent the earth. If there weren’t any sunlight there wouldn't be much energy. If there wasn't water, many organisms wouldn't survive. Their isn't much biodiversity, not counting all microorganisms, and mostly likely it could decrease if no food are left for some to eat. The water and soil are abiotic, it is home to the organisms. In the bottle the carbon and nitrogen cycle happens. The biotic factors are fish, grass, insects (lady bug, caterpillar, snail). The abiotic factors are air, rocks, dirt, water and plastic. The bottle on top represents anything that walks over the humus. The second bottle represents a desert. The last bottle represents the ocean/lake/river. The bottom bottle its to show how water is a big player in the world. The middle layer represent the dry layer of which its too hot for many plants to survive. The top bottle represents life. The air in the bottle represents the troposphere. In a way a sting was to be put in the water for it to send water to desert biome and to the forest biome. Our first layer are full of plants and animals. I think our model is not a good model of the world because our layers are not connected.
In the bottle a person can say that HIPPO was applied since we created habitats for some animals. The fish were just in a bottle with water and the desert can represent habitat destruction. If there was a spider added in the forest the spider would dominate and be an invasive species. The spider would bring the population down. The only pollution that would enter would be from the air that enters the bottle and there aren't many tall/mature plants so it couldn't control pollution much. Over harvesting wasn't much of a problem since most of the plants were different and there was no farming done.
Summary of Ecocolumn Project:
One of the major project that we do in class as a group was the ecocolumn project. The purpose of the ecocolumn project is to show and learn how everything is connected to life because the ecocolumn represent earth. Everything in the world is connecting to a cycle, for example the water cycle. We were able to learn all the factors that the environment contains throw building the eococolumn. We also learn if there weren’t any sunlight there would not be much energy. In our ecocolumn we have biotic factors and abiotic factors. In the biotic factors it contains fish, grass, and insects. The insects that we had in our ecococlumn were ladybug, caterpillar, and snail. The abiotic factors in our ecocolumn are air, rocks, dirt, water, and plastic. The dirt that we had was sandy. Our first layer is representing anything that walks over the humus. The second layer represents the desert and the last layer represents the ocean, lake, and river. Water and soil were the home to the organisms that live there. The second layer represents the dryness and the temperature of hotness in the dessert. The third represents the organisms living in the water and how water is important to us. The air in the bottle represents the troposphere. Through this project we also learn there are five layer of soil. One thing that did not go well in the project was connecting the layers. When we present our ecocolumn we figure out that the layer were not connected. We should have thought of a plan how should the ecocolumn be connected before making it. One thing that went well in the project was everyone was able to bring some abiotic factors and biotic factors. If none of us could bring what we need for the project, the project would not be able to be completed. If we are able to work on this project again, I would first plan and draft before buying the supplies. The most important thing is to understand how each level is connected. From this project I learn a lot about the earth. I also get to learn a lot about the different layers.