1. Module 1 Intro

1.1. Big Picture

Big Picture

Module 1—Energy Flow and the Cycling of Matter

Big Picture

 

For almost half of the year, your outdoor view might look like a winter landscape.

 

This photo shows snow-covered trees in the sunshine.

This photo shows a sunny day in a backyard with a garden in the foreground and flowers on a deck in the background.

 

 



This is a photograph of a sunny day on an Edmonton street during the autumn. There are yellow and brown leaves on the ground.

And then you know the weather cycle is continuing when you see falling leaves.

 

These photographs are familiar scenes to most people in Alberta. For many people, their favourite season is summer. Everything seems alive! It also seems like many people are more interactive with the surroundings (e.g., animals, people, and plants).

 

In reality, people are constantly exchanging energy and matter with the environment every day—365 days a year. This means that there must be something happening even in the spring, fall, and winter. Energy must be constantly flowing, and nutrients must be cycling somehow in order for life cycles to continue. After all, you eat and go outside whether it is winter or summer.

 

This module will guide your discovery of exactly how energy flows in the biosphere and how matter cycles. As you work through Module 1, return to these photographs. Each time you finish a lesson, look at these pictures or view the scenery outside and ask yourself this Big Picture question: “How does energy flow and matter cycle?” As you progress in the module, your answer will become more complex and complete.

 

Each lesson will focus on answering one of the following questions:

  • How does energy enter the biosphere, and how is it distributed?
  • Once energy is in the biosphere, how does it become useful?
  • What properties of water contribute to water’s role in the biosphere?
  • Why is the cycling of matter within the biosphere important to life on Earth?
  • How do biodiversity and biomagnification relate to energy flow and the cycling of matter?
When you finish Module 1, you will have completed several lesson assignments and a module project. When you are ready to work on your Module Project, go to the Module Summary and Assessment for instructions.