34 u E34 u E

The NonlivingEnvironment

Sun, Surf, and SandLiving things on this coast directly or indirectly depend on nonlivingthings, such as sunlight, water, and rocks, for energy and rawmaterials needed for their life processes. In this chapter, you willread how these and other nonliving things affect life on Earth.

List all the nonliving things that you can see in this picture in

order of importance. Explain your reasoning for the order you chose.

Science Journal

Environments have

both living and nonliving

elements.

SECTION 1Abiotic FactorsMain Idea Both living

and nonliving parts of an

environment are needed

for organisms to survive.

SECTION 2Cycles in NatureMain Idea Many nonliving

elements on Earth, such

as water and oxygen, are

recycled over and over.

SECTION 3Energy FlowMain Idea All living things

use energy.

Ron Thomas/Getty Images

E u 35E u 35

Nonliving Factors Make the

following Foldable to help you

understand the cause and effect

relationships within the nonliving environment.

Fold two vertical sheets of paper in

half from top to bottom. Cut the

papers in half along the folds.

Discard one piece and fold the

three vertical pieces in half from

top to bottom.

Turn the papers horizontally. Tape

the short ends of the pieces together

(overlapping the edges slightly).

On one side, label the folds: Nonliving,

Water, Soil, Wind, Temperature, and

Elevation. Draw a picture of a familiar

ecosystem on the other side.

Sequence As you read the chapter, write on the

folds how each nonliving factor affects the envi-

ronment that you draw.

STEP 4

STEP 3

STEP 2

STEP 1

1. Locate your city or town on a globe orworld map. Find your latitude. Latitude

shows your distance from the equator

and is expressed in degrees, minutes,

and seconds.

2. Locate another city with the same latitudeas your city but on a different continent.

3. Locate a third city with latitude close tothe equator.

4. Using references, compare average annualprecipitation and average high and low

temperatures for all three cities.

5. Think Critically Hypothesize how lati-tude affects average temperatures and

rainfall.

Earth Has Many Ecosystems

Do you live in a dry, sandy region covered

with cactus plants or desert scrub? Is your

home in the mountains? Does snow fall dur-

ing the winter? In this chapter, youll learn

why the nonliving factors in each ecosystem

are different. The following lab will get you

started.

Start-Up Activities

Preview this chapters contentand activities at booke.msscience.com

Tape

Ron Thomas/Getty ImagesRon Thomas/Getty Images

36 A u E CHAPTER 2 The Nonliving Environment

Apply It! As you read thischapter, practice your skill at making infer-

ences by making connections and asking

questions.

Learn It! When you make inferences, you draw conclusionsthat are not directly stated in the text. This means you read between the

lines. You interpret clues and draw upon prior knowledge. Authors rely on

a readers ability to infer because all the details are not always given.

Practice It! Read the excerpt below and pay attention tohighlighted words as you make inferences. Use this Think-Through chart

to help you make inferences.

Water vapor that has

been

eventually

The temperatureof the water vapor drops.Over time, the water vaporcools enough to changeback into liquid water. Theprocess of changing from agas to a liquid is calledcondensation. Water vapor

in the air, formingtiny droplets. At first, thedroplets clump together toform clouds.

from page 45

dust

condenses on particles of

colder air.

comes into contact with

atmosphere

released into the

Text Question Inferences

Pollution? Wind?Where have thedust particlescome from?

Condenses onparticles of dust

High in theatmosphere? Cool air from cool weather?

Where does it come intocontact withcold air?

Comes into contact withcolder air

Evaporation?Animals?

How is thewater vaporreleased backinto the atmosphere?

Released into theatmosphere

E u 36 B

Use this to focus on the main ideas as you read the chapter.

Before you read the chapter, respond to the statements below on

your worksheet or on a numbered sheet of paper.

Write an A if you agree with the statement.

Write a D if you disagree with the statement.

After you read the chapter, look back to this page to see if youve

changed your mind about any of the statements.

If any of your answers changed, explain why.

Change any false statements into true statements.

Use your revised statements as a study guide.

Before You Read Statement After You ReadA or D A or D

1 The nonliving part on an environment oftendetermines what living organisms are foundthere.

2 Most living organisms are mainly made up of water.

3 Heat from the Sun is responsible for wind.

4 Animals do not release water vapor.

5 The air we breathe mostly contains nitrogen.

6 Photosynthesis uses oxygen to produce energy.

7 Energy can be both converted to other formsand recycled.

8 Matter can be converted to other forms, butcannot be recycled.

9 The majority of energy is found at the bottomon an energy pyramid.

10 Water is a living part of the environment.

Print out a worksheetof this page at booke.msscience.com

Sometimes you make

inferences by using other

reading skills, such as

questioning and predicting.

Environmental FactorsLiving organisms depend on one another for food and shel-

ter. The leaves of plants provide food and a home for grass-hoppers, caterpillars, and other insects. Many birds depend oninsects for food. Dead plants and animals decay and becomepart of the soil. The features of the environment that are alive,or were once alive, are called biotic (bi AH tihk) factors. Theterm biotic means living.

Biotic factors are not the only things in an environment thatare important to life. Most plants cannot grow without sunlight,air, water, and soil. Animals cannot survive without air, water, orthe warmth that sunlight provides. The nonliving, physical fea-tures of the environment are called abiotic (ay bi AH tihk) fac-tors. The prefix a means not. The term abiotic means notliving. Abiotic factors include air, water, soil, sunlight, temper-ature, and climate. The abiotic factors in an environment oftendetermine which kinds of organisms can live there. For example,water is an important abiotic factor in the environment, asshown in Figure 1.

n Identify common abiotic factorsin most ecosystems.

n List the components of air thatare needed for life.

n Explain how climate influenceslife in an ecosystem.

Knowing how organisms depend onthe nonliving world can help humansmaintain a healthy environment.

Review Vocabularyenvironment: everything, such asclimate, soil, and living things,that surrounds and affects anorganism

New Vocabulary

biotic soil abiotic climate atmosphere

Abiotic Factors

Figure 1 Abiotic factorsair,water, soil, sunlight, temperature,

and climateinfluence all life

on Earth.

36 u E CHAPTER 2Kenneth Murray/Photo Researchers

SECTION 1 Abiotic Factors E u 37

AirAir is invisible and plentiful, so it is easily overlooked as an

abiotic factor of the environment. The air that surrounds Earthis called the atmosphere. Air contains 78 percent nitrogen,21 percent oxygen, 0.94 percent argon, 0.03 percent carbondioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. Some of these gasesprovide substances that support life.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is required for photosynthesis. Photo-synthesisa series of chemical reactionsuses CO2, water, andenergy from sunlight to produce sugar molecules. Organisms,like plants, that can use photosynthesis are called producersbecause they produce their own food. During photosynthesis,oxygen is released into the atmosphere.

When a candle burns, oxygen from the air chemically com-bines with the molecules of candle wax. Chemical energystored in the wax is converted and released as heat and lightenergy. In a similar way, cells use oxygen to release the chemi-cal energy stored in sugar mole-cules. This process is calledrespiration. Through respira-tion, cells obtain the energyneeded for all life processes. Air-breathing animals arent the onlyorganisms that need oxygen.Plants, some bacteria, algae, fish,and other organisms need oxy-gen for respiration.

Water Water is essential to life on

Earth. It is a major ingredient ofthe fluid inside the cells of allorganisms. In fact, most organ-isms are 50 percent to 95 percentwater. Respiration, digestion,photosynthesis, and many otherimportant life processes can takeplace only in the presence ofwater. As Figure 2 shows, envi-ronments that have plenty ofwater usually support a greaterdiversity of and a larger numberof organisms than environmentsthat have little water.

Life in deserts is limited to species that can survive for long periods

without water.

Thousands of species can live in lush rain forests where rain falls

almost every day.

Figure 2 Water is an impor-tant abiotic factor in deserts and

rain forests.

(t)Jerry L. Ferrara/Photo Researchers, (b)Art Wolfe/Photo Researchers

38 u E CHAPTER 2 The Nonliving Environment

SoilSoil is a mixture of mineral