The Carbon Cycle 1. Animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide 2. Producers (plants) take in carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) from the air during photosynthesis. 3. Producers use carbon dioxide to make food (sugar). 4. Consumers eat producers and take in carbon molecules. 5. Consumers release CO 2 as waste product (by breathing) **cycle starts over again.

The Oxygen Cycle 1. Producers (plants) release oxygen during photosynthesis 2. Consumers breathe in oxygen to perform life functions.

The Carbon and Oxygen Cycles Plants take in CO2 and release O2 Animals take in O2 and release CO2 Plants also use carbon to make sugars which animals consume.

#6 The Nitrogen Cycle 1. The air around us contains 78% nitrogen gas but we cannot use it 2. We rely on bacteria in the soil to “fix” the nitrogen so we can use it. 3. Plants use nitrogen in the soil to grow. 4. Consumers eat plants containing nitrogen. 5. Decomposers return nitrogen to soil again when animals eliminate waste or organisms die.

I. The Water Cycle Precipitation Evaporation Condensation The water cycle recycles Earth’s water. The cycle moves the water from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back. Purifies our water.

1. Evaporation – liquid water turns into water vapor (a gas). The energy for evaporation comes from the sun. 2. Condensation – Water vapor (gas) in the atmosphere cools down and turns into liquid water. *Clouds form when water droplets collect around dust particles. 3. Precipitation – Water droplets fall from clouds as rain, sleet, snow, and hail.

Earth’s Natural Resources Some resources can be replaced and reused by nature; these are renewable resources. Natural resources that cannot be replaced by nature are nonrenewable resources.

Renewable Resources 1. AIR is recycled and purified through the carbon and oxygen cycles. 2. The WATER cycle allows Earth’s water to be used over and over. 3. New SOIL is formed to replace soil that has been carried away by wind and water.

Renewable Resources Cont. 4. Trees and other new plants grow to replace those that have been cut down or died. 5. Animals are born to replace animals that have died. 6. Sunlight, or solar energy, is considered a renewable resource because it will continue to be available for billions of years on Earth.

Non-Renewable Resources ENERGY Once energy is used it is gone forever. EXAMPLES: 1. Gas/oil (fossil fuels) 2. Food

Conservation of Resources 1. Reduce – use alternatives (riding bike versus driving car) 2. Reuse – use resource again – plastic water bottles vs. water from sink 3. Recycle – reprocess an item to use again – paper 4. Protect – prevent loss of resource (living things) ex: endangered species, wildlife preserves.

Ground water – water that soaks into the ground Aeration - Pores are filled with AIR, water does not stay here. Saturation - Water fills all of the available pore space Permeable Surface water - water that stays above ground (run off, lakes, streams, and rivers). Water Table – top of zone of saturation. Lake (surface water) Underground layer where water is stored Impermeable – water CANNOT pass through

The area between the zone of aeration (air) and the saturated zone is known as the water table.

( drainage basin) -area drained by a river where all the small rivers and streams empty into. Separate watersheds. Where the river ends its journey into a large body of water. *Deltas create unique ecosystems.

Watershed/ Drainage Basin Can be lake, pond or ocean.

Can be Mountain ridges or hills Rain water falls on either side and drains down.

Deltas – Can be lake or ocean.

Floodplains – When a river floods, new sediment is deposited on the land enriching the area with new soil. The new soil is nutrient rich, allowing new crops or vegetation to grow.

Saluda watershed covers 1.6 million acres Includes 12 counties Greenville Laurens Newberry Saluda Greenwood Pickens

Watersheds In South Carolina, watersheds are located within eight major river basins: 1. Broad River 2. Catawba 3. Edisto 4. Salkahatchie 5. Saluda 6. Santee 7. Savannah 8. Pee Dee

Study Guide-copy questions 1. What are the 4 layers of soil? Litter, Topsoil, Subsoil, Bedrock 2. A soil layer is also called a horizon. 3. Which soil layer provides nutrients for plant growth? Topsoil 4. The term that describes how easily water passes through soil is Permeability

5. Which layer of soil contains dead things (like leaves and grass)? Litter 6. Which layer of soil is made up of mostly rock? Bedrock 7. What happens to water as it moves through layers of soil. it is cleaned 8. What is weathering? Breaking down of rocks

9. What are the three steps of the water cycle? Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation **Know Definitions 10. List 2 reasons why the water cycle is important. Recycles Earth’s water, cleans water 11. Animals breathe out carbon dioxide and plants take it in to make food during a process called photosynthesis. In return, plants release clean oxygen for animals to breathe in.

12. What are the 4 conservations methods? reduce, reuse, recycle and protect 13. An example of NON renewable resource is oil, energy 14. Things that come from Earth that we can use are called Natural Resources 15. List 5 examples of renewable resources. water, carbon, oxygen, living things, soil