Environmental Systems & Societies SL
9
Chapters
219
Notes
Unit 1 - Foundations Of Environmental Systems & Societies
Unit 2 - Ecosystems & Ecology
Unit 3 - Biodiversity & Conservation
Unit 4 -Water & Aquatic Food Production Systems & Societies
Unit 5 - Soil Systems & Terrestrial Food Production Systems & Societies
Unit 6 - Atmospheric Systems & Societies
Unit 7 - Climate Change & Energy Production
Unit 8 - Human Systems & Resource Use
Internal Assessment
Environmental Systems & Societies SL
Unit 2 - Ecosystems & Ecology
Ecosystems Guide: Energy & Efficiency
560 words
3 mins read
Last edited on 5th Nov 2024
Table of content
Food chains & energy loss
- In a food chain, energy is transferred from one trophic level (stage in the food chain) to another. But remember, it's not a perfect handoff – we actually lose some energy at each level.
- This energy loss happens in two main ways: respiration (basically, the breathing and energy-burning processes of organisms) and heat loss. Imagine it like a leaky water pipe where water is lost at every joint, with water being energy in our case.
Ecological efficiency
- Ecological Efficiency is like the report card for an ecosystem – it tells us how good it is at transferring energy from one trophic level to the next.
- But here's the bummer, most ecosystems don't get straight A's. On average, only about 10% of the energy available at one level makes it to the next. Think of it like passing a chocolate bar among friends – everyone takes a bite (or a lot more!) and only crumbs may reach the last person.
- Why is this so? Because energy is lost through respiration (again, think energy-burning processes), inedible parts (like when we don't eat apple cores or chicken bones), and, well, poop (faeces).
- All this energy is ultimately lost as heat due to inefficient energy conversions of respiration. It's like when you rub your hands together quickly, they get warm because some of the motion energy is being converted into heat.
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Environmental Systems & Societies SL
Unit 2 - Ecosystems & Ecology
Ecosystems Guide: Energy & Efficiency
560 words
3 mins read
Last edited on 5th Nov 2024
Table of content
Food chains & energy loss
- In a food chain, energy is transferred from one trophic level (stage in the food chain) to another. But remember, it's not a perfect handoff – we actually lose some energy at each level.
- This energy loss happens in two main ways: respiration (basically, the breathing and energy-burning processes of organisms) and heat loss. Imagine it like a leaky water pipe where water is lost at every joint, with water being energy in our case.
Ecological efficiency
- Ecological Efficiency is like the report card for an ecosystem – it tells us how good it is at transferring energy from one trophic level to the next.
- But here's the bummer, most ecosystems don't get straight A's. On average, only about 10% of the energy available at one level makes it to the next. Think of it like passing a chocolate bar among friends – everyone takes a bite (or a lot more!) and only crumbs may reach the last person.
- Why is this so? Because energy is lost through respiration (again, think energy-burning processes), inedible parts (like when we don't eat apple cores or chicken bones), and, well, poop (faeces).
- All this energy is ultimately lost as heat due to inefficient energy conversions of respiration. It's like when you rub your hands together quickly, they get warm because some of the motion energy is being converted into heat.
Unlock the Full Content!
Dive deeper and gain exclusive access to premium files of Environmental Systems & Societies SL. Subscribe now and get closer to that 45 🌟
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