Module 2 Intro

Module 2—Biosphere Equilibrium and the Impact of Humans

Lesson 1—Ecosystem Productivity: A Balance Between Energy and Matter

Get Focused

What is the balancing act that keeps everything together? Are systems unchanging and static? No. In fact, the systems are dynamic. You may have heard the word dynamic used to describe a character who adapts to the environment. Equilibrium on Earth is dynamic—matter and energy fluctuate but are kept in balance by systems within the biosphere. As you look outdoors once again, you will see that the balance between finite and infinite resources can be measured and observed. The question for you to answer is “how?”

As you work through this module, you will be required to answer Reflect on the Big Picture and Reflect and Connect questions from each of the three lessons. These responses will be stored in your course folder. You will be using your responses as a planning tool to respond to the final module written assignment. You do not need to submit the responses to your teacher for assessment, but you may request feedback if it will assist your work towards the module project.

Consider the following question as you complete this lesson:

• How are energy, matter, and ecosystem productivity interrelated?

Module 2: Lesson 1 Assignment

Your teacher-marked Module 2: Lesson 1 Assignment requires you to submit a response to the following:

• Lab 1: Thought Lab 2.3: Too Much of a Good Thing

You can access your Module 1: Lesson 1 Assignment. You can print off the assignment or save the download to your computer. Your answers can be saved on this document to your course folder.

The other questions in this lesson are not marked by the teacher; however, you should still answer these questions. The Self-Check and Try This questions are placed in this lesson to help you review important information and build key concepts that may be applied in future lessons.

After a discussion with your teacher, you must decide what to do with the questions that are not part of your assignment. For example, you may decide to submit to your teacher the responses to Try This questions that are not marked. You should record the answers to all the questions in this lesson and place those answers in your course folder.