Our Environment

Soil erosion

Water pollution

Air pollution

Depletion of ozone layer

Sunlight

Micro-organisms

Rainfall

Soil minerals

Volcanic eruptions

Global warming

Release of CFCs

Heavy rainfall

Plants

Herbivores

Secondary consumers

Tertiary consumers (Top level)

Soil, water, and air

Plants, animals, and microorganisms

Temperature, light, and humidity

Minerals and organic compounds

Vulture

Green plant

Rabbit

Lion

Producer to primary consumer

Primary consumer to secondary consumer

Secondary consumer to primary consumer

Producer to decomposer

$90\%$ of the total energy.

$10\%$ of the total energy.

$9\%$ of the total energy.

$0.9\%$ of the total energy.

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Mesosphere

Thermosphere

They are easier to decompose chemically.

They have a lower carbon footprint in production and transport (lightweight).

They do not leach any chemicals into the environment.

They are naturally occurring polymers.

The deer population will decrease

The deer population will increase

Grass will grow faster

Nothing will change

They were expensive

They used up fertile topsoil

They were not biodegradable

They were hard to make

Eat other plants

Depend on animals

Fix solar energy to make food

Decompose dead matter

Throwing in the drain

Incineration

Making compost

Dumping in water bodies

By absorbing UV radiation before it can reach the oxygen molecules.

By reacting with ozone to convert it back into oxygen molecules without absorbing UV radiation.

By increasing the rate of oxygen atom combination to form more $O_2$ than $O_3$.

By cooling the stratosphere and slowing down the natural formation of ozone.

Increased depletion of natural resources and higher accumulation of non-biodegradable materials in the soil.

A significant decrease in the population of decomposers due to the lack of raw materials.

The automatic conversion of all inorganic waste into organic manure through natural pressure.

An increase in the total energy available to primary consumers in the surrounding ecosystem.

Producer population will decrease

Herbivore population will increase

Decomposers will die out

The soil will lose all nutrients

Energy

Biomass

Non-biodegradable pollutants

Number of organisms

Paper bags are stronger

Paper bags are cheaper to manufacture

Paper bags are biodegradable and renewable

Paper bags do not require any energy to produce

Producers

Primary Consumers

Secondary Consumers

Tertiary Consumers

To increase trade

To freeze CFC production at 1986 levels

To ban all chemicals

To explore space

Equator

Poles

Tropic of Cancer

Deserts

Paper bags

Aerosol sprays

Cotton clothes

Glass bottles

DNA

Cell wall

Starch

Sugar

They are highly soluble in water

They are insoluble in water

They react with water to form ozone

They only exist as solids in the atmosphere

Troposphere

Stratosphere

Mesosphere

Exosphere

Two Oxygen molecules

One Ozone molecule

One Hydrogen molecule

Two Ozone molecules

UV-A

UV-B

UV-C

X-rays

It is continuing to grow at an exponential rate.

It has completely disappeared due to the Montreal Protocol.

It is showing signs of slow recovery and stabilization.

It has shifted from the Antarctic to the Equator.

The Krebs Cycle

The Chapman Cycle

The Calvin Cycle

The Nitrogen Cycle

Using plastic bags for shopping

Using a cloth bag for shopping

Burning plastic waste

Dumping waste in the river

Nitrogen

Oxygen

Carbon dioxide

Methane

Sunlight

Water

Fungi

Soil

They were expensive

They made the tea taste bad

Their large-scale making resulted in the loss of fertile topsoil

They were not biodegradable

Kitchen waste

Garden waste

Electronic waste (e-waste)

Paper waste

1980

1987

1990

2000

Removal of grit and stones

Biological breakdown of organic matter

Chlorination to kill bacteria

Separation of floating plastic waste

They are all biodegradable and should be composted.

They contain potentially infectious pathogens and hazardous chemicals requiring specialized treatment like autoclaving.

They are too expensive to be disposed of in landfills.

They are primarily made of metal which must be recycled immediately.

Both matter and energy decrease at each level.

Matter is conserved and recycled, whereas energy is dissipated as heat.

Energy is conserved and recycled, whereas matter is destroyed.

Both matter and energy increase due to biological growth.

Nutrients also flow unidirectionally and are lost to space.

Nutrients are recycled and move in a cyclic manner between biotic and abiotic components.

Nutrients are only available to the producers and not the consumers.

Nutrients are created by the decomposers from nothing.

Biogas

Plastic

Glass

Metal

Using plastic cups

Using disposable plastic plates

Using banana leaf plates

Using thermocol plates

Toxic

Biodegradable

Synthetic

Inert

To make the bin look clean

To facilitate recycling and proper disposal

To increase the amount of waste

To mix biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste

Non-biodegradable waste like plastic

Biodegradable waste like cow dung and food scraps

Inorganic waste like glass and metal

Hazardous waste like old batteries

It is too large for them to swallow.

It is a natural substance they have already eaten enough of.

Its chemical structure is not recognized by their metabolic enzymes.

It is found only in the atmosphere where decomposers don't live.

Dumping it in rivers

Burning it in open fields

Developing biodegradable alternatives like bioplastics

Mixing it with kitchen waste

They made the tea taste like plastic.

Large-scale use would lead to the loss of fertile topsoil to make the clay.

Clay cups are non-biodegradable.

Clay cups attract too many mosquitoes.

The ability to live without water

Specific extracellular enzymes capable of breaking the synthetic carbon-carbon or ester bonds of that plastic

A stomach similar to a human

The ability to perform photosynthesis

High solubility in water

Presence of natural peptide linkages

Strong inter-molecular forces and stable covalent bonds that microbes cannot break

Ability to be digested by human salivary amylase

It only affects people in cities

CFCs stay in one place

UV radiation affects the entire planet

Ozone is only found in one country

Fuel

Propellants

Water vapor

Pigments

$O_{4}$

$H_{2}O$

$O_{3}$

$CO_{2}$

The amount of rainfall

Atmospheric winds and chemical reactions

The number of trees in an area

The population of humans

Grasshopper

Frog

Snake

Rabbit

It is highly acidic

It is a powerful oxidizing agent that reacts with biological tissues

It is a radioactive gas

It replaces all the nitrogen in the blood

Increasing the use of coal for energy

Promoting the use of HCFCs and HFCs as transitional substances while developing better alternatives

Cutting down more forests to increase oxygen production

Using more aerosol sprays to cool the atmosphere

The cold temperatures and unique meteorology (polar vortex) concentrate the chemicals and facilitate the destructive reactions

The poles are closer to the sun during the time of peak depletion

There is no gravity at the poles to pull the CFCs back down

The magnetic field of Earth pulls all Chlorine atoms toward the poles

By the end of next year

Around the middle of the 21st century (2050-2070)

It will take at least 1,000 years

The ozone layer can never recover

The process of ozone formation is exothermic and heats the stratosphere

Atomic oxygen ($O$) is highly reactive and rarely exists for long in the atmosphere

UV-B radiation is the primary energy source that splits $O_2$ into two $O$ atoms

The cycle is continuous as long as solar UV radiation is present

Plastic straw

Wood

Glass bottle

Aluminum foil

To increase plastic production

To achieve better waste management and sanitation

To build more factories

To stop the use of paper

It requires more trees to be cut

It saves trees and reduces energy consumption

It produces more plastic waste

It has no effect on the environment

Oxygen

Nitrogen

Methane

Argon

Process 1: Incineration; Process 2: Landfill; Process 3: Composting

Process 1: Composting; Process 2: Recycling; Process 3: Incineration

Process 1: Landfill; Process 2: Recycling; Process 3: Composting

Process 1: Composting; Process 2: Incineration; Process 3: Landfill

They enhance soil porosity by creating gaps.

They can be eaten by soil-dwelling animals and block their digestive tracts.

They provide essential minerals to the plants after a few years.

They speed up the growth of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

An aquarium is a natural ecosystem, while a forest is artificial.

A forest is a self-sustaining natural ecosystem, whereas an aquarium is a man-made ecosystem that requires maintenance.

Both are completely self-sustaining and do not need external energy.

Neither contains decomposers.

It starts with living green plants and moves to herbivores.

It starts with dead organic matter (waste) and moves to detritivores (like fungi and earthworms) and then to their predators.

It is a food chain that exists only in the vacuum of outer space.

It is a food chain where energy flows from the carnivore back to the producer without decomposers.

It causes global warming by releasing $CO_{2}$.

It can lead to the spread of infectious diseases and the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment.

It causes the soil to become too acidic for agriculture.

It reacts with rainwater to produce sulfuric acid.

Vegetables have more calories per gram than meat.

By eating producers directly, humans access energy at the second trophic level, avoiding the $90\%$ energy loss that occurs at the third or fourth levels (meat).

Meat takes more energy to cook than vegetables.

Plant proteins are easier to digest than animal proteins.

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Decomposition

Eating

Aquarium

Garden

Lake

Greenhouse

Herbivores

Carnivores

Omnivores

Autotrophs

$5\%$

$10\%$

$15\%$

$20\%$

Grasshoppers

Birds

Rabbits

Foxes

Increasing magnitude at each level

Loss of heat at each level

Recycling of energy to the sun

No change in energy magnitude

Aquariums have more plants

Ponds have no decomposers

Aquariums lack natural decomposers and self-cleansing mechanisms

Ponds are larger in size

Using more disposable plastic items.

Burning garden waste instead of composting it.

Using public transport or cycling instead of personal motor vehicles.

Increasing the use of air conditioners.

The snake population will decrease.

The snake population will increase initially.

The snake population will remain unchanged.

The snake population will become herbivorous.

They convert organic material into inorganic forms.

They are always the first link in a food chain.

They are autotrophic in nature.

They reduce the fertility of the soil.

Sun -> Producer -> Consumer -> Decomposer

Consumer -> Producer -> Sun -> Decomposer

Decomposer -> Sun -> Producer -> Consumer

Sun -> Consumer -> Producer -> Decomposer

Rainfall

Number of lions

Presence of bacteria

Density of grass

The size of organisms

The direction of the arrows

The color of organisms

The speed of movement

Fish

Frog

Phytoplankton

Crane

Terrestrial natural ecosystem

Aquatic natural ecosystem

Terrestrial artificial ecosystem

Aquatic artificial ecosystem

Photosynthesis

Respiration

Energy transfer

Mineralization

Algae

Small Fish

Large Fish

Hawk

Overhunting of a specific deer species.

Introduction of an invasive plant species.

Industrial emission of sulfur dioxide causing acid rain, which alters soil pH.

Vaccinating wild animals against a disease.

Phytoplankton

Zooplankton

Fish

Shark

The total amount of solar energy falling on a field.

The total amount of inorganic minerals in the soil at any given time.

The total mass of living material (biomass) present at a particular trophic level at a specific time.

The amount of crop harvested by a farmer.

Burning

Recycling

Burying in soil

Throwing in rivers

1950s

1980s

2010s

1920s

It will become thicker

It will be depleted/thinned

It will change its color

It will sink to the ground

Vegetable peels

Animal dung

Glass pieces

Dry leaves

The overall improvement in lifestyle and living standards

The increase in the total volume of goods consumed by individuals

Changes in product packaging materials used in recent decades

The lack of space in urban areas for proper garbage disposal

Deep burial in the ground

High-temperature heating

Using worms to digest waste

Mixing waste with water

They are very heavy

Microorganisms do not have enzymes to break them down

They react with oxygen to become stronger

They are kept in cold places

Enzymes are too expensive to manufacture.

Most synthetic plastics have structures that enzymes do not recognize as 'food' or substrate.

Enzymes die when they touch salt water.

Plastics are actually made of enzymes themselves.

They use too much water.

They can release toxic pollutants like heavy metals and dioxins if not operated correctly.

They create more solid waste than they consume.

They are only useful for biodegradable waste.

$UV-A$

$UV-B$

$UV-C$

Visible Light