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Applied Single Award & Entry LevelWJEC ‘Entry Level’ taught in conjunction with content from

Applied Single Award Science – to allow access to WJEC Double Award Science GCSE.

Applied Context: Learners will consider how ecosystems are in balance and how living organisms are dependent on their environment and each other for survival. They will also gain an appreciation of the impact that humans have on the Earth and the importance of sustainable developments for future generations. Learners can apply their knowledge in a number of fields including environmental monitoring, energy and biotechnology.

Please note:

Some of the tasks and questions that you are expected to complete will not be in this booklet.

You will need to bring the following to each of your lessons:

exercise book pen, pencil, ruler, rubber and calculator.

Target Sheet: (dual) Applied Single Award & Entry Level WJEC

Single Award = 1.2.3 “Transfer & recycling of nutrients”+ Entry Level = some of 1.3.2 ‘World of Life’

1.3.3 ‘Transfer & recycling of nutrients’

Name: _______________________________________Class: ________________________________________ Teacher: _____________________________________

Subject Specific Targets Single Award BEFORE Unit

I have LEARNE

DI can draw and interpret food chains and food webs to show the transfer of useful energy between organisms; types of feeding (e.g. herbivore, carnivore); pyramids of numbers and biomass. I am aware that alternative terms for the organisms in the trophic levels include: primary consumers, secondary consumers and tertiary consumers. I am able to construct food chains, food webs and pyramids from given information.I understand the interdependency of organisms; plants that depend on invertebrates and other animals for pollination, seed dispersal, protection from grazers etc.; animals that depend on plants either directly or indirectly for food, shelter etc.; predation, disease and competition that cause large numbers of organisms to die; microorganisms that play an important role in the cycling of nutrients. This would include competition between species (interspecific) and between members of the same species (intraspecific). I am able to interpret predator-prey relationships.I know radiation from the Sun is the source of energy for most ecosystems/communities of living organisms; capture of a small percentage of the solar energy by green plants which reaches them in a process known as photosynthesis. Radiation from the sun is the source of energy for living organisms. Green plants capture only a small percentage of the solar energy which reaches them.I understand the loss of energy at each stage in the food chain due to waste materials and as heat during respiration. I am able to analyse data in terms of: efficiency of energy transfer, numbers of organisms and biomass.I understand the carbon cycle (that carbon is recycled via photosynthesis, food chains, respiration and combustion); the role of bacteria and fungi in transferring carbon by feeding on waste materials from organisms and dead plants and animals, respiration and release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.Micro-organisms digest materials from their environment for growth and other life processes. These materials are returned to the environment either in waste products or when living things die and decay. When decay is prevented, fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas are formed and these store energy in carbon compounds. Carbon is taken up by green plants in photosynthesis and is passed to animals when they eat the plants. Some of this carbon then becomes part of carbohydrates, fats and proteins which make up their bodies. Animals and plants release carbon dioxide during respirationI understand the effect of human activity (via burning fossil fuels, clearing forests) upon the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.I know the greenhouse effect caused by the Earth absorbing and emitting electromagnetic radiation that is absorbed by some gases (e.g. methane and water vapour) in the atmosphere, so keeping it warmer than it would otherwise be.

Subject Specific Targets Single Award BEFORE Unit

I have LEARNE

DI understand the greenhouse effect as being important to stabilize conditions for life but an enhanced greenhouse effect may have significant impact on climate, ice sheets and sea levels and agriculture.I am able to interpret information showing the similarity between how CO2 and mean global temperature have changed over time

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I know greenhouse gases allow for sufficient warming of the planet for liquid water to be present. Human activity beyond this is leading to climate change.I am able to evaluate effects of human activity on carbon dioxide levels.I can consider proposed solutions to global warming to reduce human impact on the climate (e.g. reducing dependence on fossil fuels via reducing energy consumption, using alternative non-carbon sources of energy, carbon capture).I am able to interpret data in tabular form and from charts and graphs to compare different sources of energy, and relate to carbon footprint.I know nutrients that are released during decay, e.g. nitrates, and that these nutrients are then taken up by other organisms resulting in nutrient cycles; that the processes which remove materials are balanced by processes which return materials in a stable community. The principle of cycling of elements is required. Knowledge of the nitrogen and phosphate cycles is not required.I know that nitrogen is also recycled through the activity of soil bacteria and fungi acting as decomposers, converting proteins and urea into ammonia; ammonia is converted to nitrates which are taken up by plant roots and used to make new protein. This includes the factors that affect bacterial action and influence the decomposition process in compost heaps and landfill sites e.g. temperature, oxygen, pH, heavy metals. Nitrogen fixation occurs in bacteria in root nodules of legume plants or free living bacteria in the soil. Some other bacteria break down the nitrate in the soil, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere. These are called denitrifying bacteria and they prefer to live in waterlogged/ unploughed soil. Names of bacterial species is not required.

Subject Specific Targets some of 1.3.2 Entry Level

BEFORE Unit

I have LEARNE

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I can draw conclusions from given information.I can understand food chains and food webs to show the transfer of useful energy between organisms; the terms producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer, herbivore, carnivore and omnivore to describe the organisms in a food web.I can construct food chains, food webs and pyramids from given information.I understand interdependency of organisms; how change affects species in a food web.This would include competition between different species and between members of the same species (knowledge of the terms interspecific and intraspecific is not required).I can interpret predator-prey relationships.I understand that radiation from the Sun is the source of energy for most ecosystems/communities of living organisms.

FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBSA food chain shows how each living thing gets its energy. Some animals eat plants

and some animals eat other animals. For example, a simple food chain links the trees & shrubs, the giraffes (that eat trees & shrubs), and the lions (that eat the giraffes).

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Each link in this chain is food for the next link. The direction of the arrow shows the flow of energy. A food chain always starts with a plant that can make its own food,

and ends with an animal.A food chain shows a sequence of feeding relationships and the transfer of useful energy between organisms. It traces just one path through a food web.A food web is a collection of food chains which all exist within a habitat. Just like in a food chain, the arrows show the flow of energy from one organism to another. A food web consists of a network of interconnected food chains.

Activity: Make two food chains for the food web above.Here are two examples of food chains for the food web above.

Activity: Make two food chains for the food web below

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Activity: You will be given a set of cards with pictures of plants and animals.Task 1: Organise them into PRODUCERS and CONSUMERSTask 2: Organise the CONSUMERS into HERBIVORES and OMNIVORES.Task 3: Make some food chains from the cards and identify the PRODUCER, PRIMARY CONSUMER, SECONDARY CONSUMER and TERTIARY CONSUMER.Task 4: Make a food web from the cards and explain it to your partner. Count the number of PRODUCERS, PRIMARY CONSUMERS, SECONDARY CONSUMERS and TERTIARY CONSUMERS.

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All food webs and food chains start with a producer. A producer is a plant which makes food by photosynthesis. The orginal source of all energy within any ecosystem is the Sun. The first group of organisms that eat the producers are called the primary consumers. These are usually herbivores (only eat plants). The group of organsisms that eat the primary consumers are usually carnivores (only eat meat) or omnivores (eat both plants and meat). These are called the secondary consumers. If there is another layer of organisms then they are the tertiary consumers.Energy flow through the food chain:

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Energy is also used up if animals move about. Restricting movement of the animal will mean less energy is lost. However, this raises serious animal welfare issues: Is it cruel to restrict animal movement? Does it reduce the quality of life of the animal concerned? A balance needs to be maintained to ensure animal welfare is maintained as well as efficient food production.

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Activity: test yourself

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INTERDEPENDANCE OF ORGANSISMSAll living things within an ecosystem depend upon each other. Thus if there is a change in the size of one population, the population of other organisms within the ecosystem will be affected in some way.Plant – animal interdependenceIn ecosystems, animals and plants depend on each other in many different ways. • Plants carry out photosynthesis and help regulate the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. • Plants also provide food for animals. • Some animals depend on plants to provide them with a home or provide shelter from the environment.Animals can also provide important services for plants. • Animals, such as bees, can act as pollinators for flowering plants. Without pollinators, pollination would not take place, seeds would not be produced and flowering plants would fail to reproduce. • Animals can also assist plants in seed dispersal. They can do this by eating fruit and then dropping the seed or by excreting it later. Some seeds can attach to the coats of animals andAll of the organisms in an ecosystem depend on each other. A slight change in the balance of an ecosystem can have detrimental consequences on other organsms. For example, in the food web over page, if squirrel numbers fell dramatically due to loss of habitat, then more of the mongeese will get eaten, lowering their numbers and having an impact on the amount of food avilable to the other two secondary consumers, causing their numbers to fall.

Factors that affect populationsPopulations of organisms in a habitat are affected by factors such as:• competition • predation • disease These factors are known as environmental selection pressures and they determine which individuals will live or die; i.e. which will do best at surviving and reproducing?

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CompetitionWhere there are many different organisms living together in a habitat, they will often need to compete for the same resources.

The more organisms there are in a habitat, the more competition there is. The competition may be:• between members of the same species (intraspecific competition); • between different species (interspecific competition).Competition between species Interspecific competition occurs when members of different species compete for a shared resource. Competition between members of the same species Intraspecific competition occurs when members of the same species compete for limited resources. Members of the same species have very similar resource requirements. Resources not only include food, water and space but may also include mates. If every member of the species has sufficient resources then individuals will not need to compete and the population will grow rapidly. Intraspecific competition can be more important than interspecific competition. For example, competition between grey squirrels is likely to have a bigger impact on the population of grey squirrels than competition with red squirrels.The relationship between predator and prey populationsPredation is where a predator feeds on its prey. The interdependency of organisms within an ecosystem is clearly shown by the relationship between predator and prey populations. There is a continuous struggle between predators and their prey for survival. Predators need to be adapted for efficient hunting if they are to catch enough food to survive. Prey species must be well adapted to escape their predators if enough are to survive for the species to continue. The relationship between the two populations can be shown on a predator-prey graph. A typical of the predator-prey relationship is that of the lynx and the snowshoe hare.

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PREDATOR-PREY RELATIONSHIPSThere is a fine balance between predator (animals which hunt) and prey (animals which get hunted). The relationship is a bit like a rollercoaster e.g. foxes prey on rabbits:• if there are many rabbits in an area, foxes will move in • with a lot of food available the foxes reproduce • fox numbers then increase, more hunting takes place, and rabbit numbers fall • now there is less food, fox numbers fall • predation is low and the rabbits reproduce • low fox numbers allow the rabbit numbers to grow • now there is more food for the foxes and their numbers grow again • this lowers the rabbit numbers • the cycle continues until interrupted by an outside influence.

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Activity: Test yourself

The Carbon CycleCarbon is absolutely essential to life on Earth. All organisms contain carbon since they all contain proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the atmosphere, oceans, biosphere, and geosphere is described by the carbon cycle.

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The diagram below shows some of the important processes responsible for the movement of carbon.

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