P ROJECT B ased L earning Assignment

1. PROJECT Based Learning Assignment Science HaiderRaza Omar Ammouneh HaroonSher

2. Driving Questions What is biological diversity, and by what processes do diverse living things pass on their characteristics to future generations

3. Part DIVERSITY

4. Explain the 5 components of biodiversity? 1. Ecosystem Diversity: The vast variety of different ecosystems in which different species live in, on Earth. Ex: Lakes, marshes, streams , forests, swamps , ponds , oceans and deserts. 2. Community Diversity: The number of different plants and animals that inhabit the ecosystem. 3. Species Diversity: The vast variation in the species of organisms. Ex: Blue Dart frog and Red Eyed Tree frog 4. Genetic Diversity: The vast genetic differences and variations in a particular specie. These small differences help them survive changes in their environment. Ex: People in tropical places have darker skin because of their genetics adapted to the sun. 5. Species Distribution Diversity: The number of different species that distributed throughout the world but not evenly in every area. Ex: Scorpions are found in many tropical areas around the world but none of them naturally exist here in Canada

5. What area of the Earth do we find the most biodiversity? We find the most biological diversity near the equator. Also a lot of species are in tropical rainforests such as the Amazon rainforest. This is because of the moist, hot and rainy weather that provides the perfect place for plants and animals to live and thrive.

6. Why coral reefs are called “the Amazons of the oceans?” The coral reefs are called the Amazons of the oceans because just like the Amazon, coral reefs are home to an abundant variety of different species. Also because the coral reefs are located in a tropical setting.

7. What does interdependence mean? Interdependence is when different species rely of each other to survive.

8. What is an important example of interdependence found in nature? Important examples of interdependence found in nature are food webs and food chains.

9. Symbiosis is the relationship between two different species. Mutualism: When both species benefit in a relationship. Ex: A fish cleans a shark’s teeth and the fish gets the food in/on the sharks teeth. Commensalism: When one specie benefits and the other one is not harmed. Ex: A bird nest on a tree. The bird gets a home but the tree neither benefits or is harmed. Parasitic: When one specie benefits and the other is harmed. Ex: A mosquito sucks the blood of a human. The human is harmed because, it lost blood and bite could have transferred potential diseases. What is symbiosis and also explain the three different types of symbiosis (don’t need interspecies completion), making sure to explain examples for each?

10. What is a niche and why is it important? Niche is the role the organism plays in an ecosystem. It also includes what it eats, where it lives, how it reproduces and how it interacts with other biotic and abiotic things. Ex: A bear eats a fish. This controls the fish population and that controls the plant(algae, plankton) population. So each organism must do its role in the food chain or it falls apart. Niches are important because if they don't do their role then the entire ecosystem falls apart.

11. Give an example of an ecosystem and name some animals that live in that ecosystem and the niches they would fill. Example of an ecosystem: Borealis Forest Animals: Bears ,fish , deer and trees(not animal) The niche bears fill are, they eat the fish which then controls the population of the river fish. The niche the deer fill are, they eat the leaves off the trees which then turns into feces and transforms into nitrogen. The nitrogen from feces helps plants grow better.

12. Explain whether niches stay the same or can change...if they change explain this? Niches may stay the same for the organism’s entire life or they might change over its lifetime. This change can also happen depending on the environment and species it interrelates with. To explain this I will give you an example. A shark in an area with lots of competition will be forced to eat the dead fish left over. Another shark of the same specie will probably hunt for its food and almost never resort to scavenging if possible.

13. What are two ways a niche can change…give a couple examples to help explain the two ways niches can change? Two ways a niche can change are either over his lifetime(Ex: less competition) or by an environmental change. Ex: Over time an animal can move to a different place thus changing its niche. Ex: An environmental change can also change the niche if the competition reduces (prey thriving). This can if a species begins to be extinct.

14. WHAT DOES RESOURCE PARTITIONING MEAN? Basically resource partitioning is when two or more species have the same resource so they have to share to reduce competition. So each specie uses a different part of the same resource to survive. Although they share the same niche they shrink it down to co-exist. Example would a variety of birds sharing a tree. One might eat leaves from the canopy and the other from the . These pictures describe my example in a more detailed way.

15. What are two reasons that variability is important in an ecosystem? Two reasons why variability is important in an ecosystem are, it makes the ecosystem healthier and protects the species from being entirely wiped out from a change in the environment. A healthy ecosystem contains genetic variation and diversity among communities.

16. Explain what natural selection is and how it relates to variability? Natural selection is when the environment selects which organism will survive to reproduce. The surviving organism’s offspring will also take on similar survival traits. Natural selection relates to variability in a unique way. If natural selection took place(ex: freezing temperature) and killed off all organisms of the specie, they would go extinct due to no variation. This is where variation helps species survive because many of the organisms of the specie are different, and some may react better to the environmental changes and survive.

17. Describe why variation is important in helping organisms deal with change in the environment? Variation makes it so that all organism of the specie are different. So if many of the species are different then they have all have chance to survive different catastrophic events. Example: Lion A, might not respond well with the cold weather and die, but lion B might be better off surviving the cold weather because of his genetic variation .

18. Reproduction and Characteristics PART B

19. Heritable traits are traits that are passed from generation to generation. These traits are passed from sexual reproduction by genetic material. Eye color, hair color, skin color and height. These traits are heritable but can differ. Eye color and hair color are usually passed through family genes. Non-Heritable traits are traits that are not passed from generation to generation. Examples for these are skills, and feelings. Skills are learned through experience and just because your parents like apples doesn’t mean you will too. Explain the difference between heritable and non-heritable traits and give some examples of each.

20. Explain how environment can play a role in the development of characteristics and give some examples of how environment can affect characteristics. The environment can play a major role in the development of characteristics. People that are from African ancestry will most likely have dark skin. Their body adapted to the hot weather and sun by making the skin pigments darker. This is why people with darker skin don't get sun burnt that easily. A polar bear adapted to the winter snow by changing its fur color from brown and black to white helping them hunt better.

21. Explain the difference between discrete and continuous variation and give some examples of each. Discrete variation is either/or characteristic. It is a characteristic that has a define form. Ex. Your ear lobes are either attached or not and if you are able to role your tongue or not . It is like flipping a coin. Continuous variation comes in a range of forms. Ex: Your height, weight and shoe size are not set and will change over the course of your life. Some variation can inherited through the environment(not in animal falls off a cliff and breaks a leg.

22. Give a scientific explanation of sexual reproduction. What special cells are involved in sexual reproduction? Sexual reproduction involves two individual organisms. The offspring of these organisms have half of their characteristics from one parent and the other half from the parent. This is may not involve a male and a female but involves gametes. GAMETES: Are cells that join other gamete cells when reproducing.

23. Asexual reproduction involves only one parent. The offspring from an asexual reproduction are identical to the parent. It is like making mini clones of itself. The four types of asexual reproduction are: Binary Fission- Happens to single celled organisms. The cell splits into two cells that are identical. Ex: Bacteria, amoeba and algae reproduce this way. Budding- The parent organism produces a bud that eventually detaches for itself and then becomes an individual. Ex: Hydra, yeast, and coral produce this way. Spore Production: Spores are seed like things that are produced by the division of cells in the parent. Many spores can be produced and by time will turn into and individual identical to the parent. Ex: Fungi, molds and ferns produce this way. Vegetative Reproduction: This is the reproduction of plants not involving seeds. This includes cuttings, runners, suckers and tubers. Ex: Potatoes, strawberries and aspen trees produce this may. Explain what asexual reproduction means and explain the four types of asexual reproduction with examples.

24. In animals, what are the specialized cells called that are involved in sexual reproduction and what do they produce when they combine? What is formed next? In animals the specialized cells that are used in sexual reproduction are male gametes called sperm cells and female gametes called egg cells. When the two gametes combine they form a fertilized combination of cells called a zygote. The zygote then begins to divide until the development of an embryo. The embryo then develops into a multi-cellular organism usually inside the female in most mammals or in an egg for reptiles.

25. Briefly describe how sexual reproduction works in plants. Use the proper names of the parts please. Sexual reproduction in plants also involves gametes that turn into zygote which forms an embryo. The process of pollination happens when male gametes (pollen) makes its ways from the anther to the stigma. The pollen then travels down the stigma to the female gametes the ovule where the two again combine to make a zygote and then form an embryo. The embryo forms inside a seed which helps protects the developing embryo.

26. Briefly explain the three types of sexual reproduction in plants. • The three types of pollination (sexual reproduction in plants) are.... • Cross Pollination: Pollen from one plant combines with the ovule of the other plant. The resulting plants are not identical to either parent. • Self Pollination: Pollen from the same plant combines with ovule of the same plant. The resulting plants are identical to the parent. • Artificial Pollination: Plants are pollinated by man.

27. Give one major advantage and disadvantage of both sexual and asexual reproduction. A major advantage for asexual reproduction is that they can reproduce many offspring in a short amount of time (only good in an environment that doesn’t change). A disadvantage is that all the individual organisms are the same. If there was a change in the environment, they would all die. A major advantage for sexual reproduction is that it provides a large amount of variation. This helps them survive when the environment changes. A disadvantage would be the process of reproduction takes a lot of energy and the number of offspring seems to be smaller.

28. What are some examples of organisms that can reproduce both asexually and sexually? Many plants, sponges and yeast can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Aphids are in the species that can reproduce both ways.

29. What is biological diversity, and by what processes do diverse living things pass on their characteristics to future generations • Biological diversity is a variety of different species and ecosystems. It is also their ecological processes in which they take part in. A process in which they pass down their characteristics to future generations is reproduction. Reproduction can either be asexual or sexual. Both types of reproduction involve reproductive cells call gametes; there are male gametes (sperm, pollen) and female gametes (egg cells, ovule). Another important part is the DNA, it is the inherited blue print passed from parent to offspring. The DNA contains the things that are responsible for variation, and can be found in the nucleus of all cells. The DNA is the key holder of characteristics passed down from generations; it is arranged in packages called chromosomes. Chromosomes come from the parents and are also the link that makes up DNA. They contain genes which are also found in DNA. In humans, everyone has 23 pairs of chromosomes and the last pair determines the gender of a person, either XX (female) or XY (male). Lastly, DNA contains genetic material called genes. Genes are the instruction booklet for how and organism functions. Genes lie in long strands of DNA; they contain four different patterns,adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine. So to sum it up, DNA are the holders of all different characteristic that could come from a parent down to the offspring.

30. THIS CONCLUDES OUR Presentation GRADE 9 (9-2) The END • CREDITS • http://prezi.com/cib_cuoz95op/unit-1-biological-diversity/ • www.Dictionary.com • REFERENCE: Mr.Shack • THE END AND HOPE YOU ENJOYED OUR PRESENTATION