2.

3
Importance of soil in providing water, mineral nutrients and oxygen;

Oxygen: the spaces among soil particles contain air that provides oxygen,
which living cells use to break down sugars and release the energy needed to
live and grow.
Water: the spaces among soil particles also contain water, which moves
upward through plants. This water cools plants as it evaporates off the leaves
and other tissues; carries essential nutrients into plants; helps maintain cell
size so that plants dont wilt; and serves as a raw material for photosynthesis
Nutrients: soil supplies nutrients, and also holds the nutrients that we add in
the form of fertilizer.

Importance of air in providing various raw materials: oxygen, carbon dioxide,

nitrogen.

Plants absorb CO2 from the air and by the action of light which is conducted
through chlorophyll will free oxygen in air which facilitates for respiration in
animals and humans.

Importance of light and temperature.

Light is the main source of energy for organisms. Light has an important part
to play in the life of most plants as it is utilized by them for the process of
photosynthesis where light energy is converted into chemical energy and into
complex organic substances important for growth, flowering and germination.
All plants and animals are adapted to survive between a minimum and
maximum range of temperature. The earths surface has different
temperatures in different zones and while some animals and plants can bear
extreme heat or extreme cold, some survive well in moderate temperature
ranges.

3.2
Terrestrial food chain:
Carrots - rabbit - snake eagle
Aquatic food chain:
Plankton - shrimp - herring cat

3.3
Herbivore

Terrestrial habitat
horse

Aquatic habitat

Carnivore
Omnivore

tiger
bear

sharks

3.4
3.5

3.6 Role of decomposers - Decomposers are nature's recyclers as they break down
the organic matter found in the dead bodies of plants and animals. The term
'organic matter' refers to the matter that comes from living organisms.
Bacteria and fungi produce chemicals, called enzymes that digest dead material.
The digested material then provides a food source for other organisms in the soil.
This makes the role of a decomposer extremely important in an ecosystem. Without
them, organic matter would pile up on the ground and plants would not receive the
required nutrients necessary for their survival. The decomposing process greatly
increases the nutrient-load of an ecosystem which allows for greater biodiversity.
3.7

Mutualism: Egret and cow, Termite and sea anemone, leguminous plants and
nitrogen fixing bacteria
Commensalism barnacle and large sea animals, epiphytes and trees,
remora and shark
Parasitism lice and human

4.1
Energy is transferred along food chains from one stage to the next. But not all of the
energy available to organisms at one stage can be absorbed by organisms at the
next one. The amount of available energy decreases from one stage to the next.
Some of the available energy goes into growth and the production of offspring. This
energy becomes available to the next stage, but most of the available energy is
used up in other ways:

energy released by respiration is used for movement and other life processes,
and is eventually lost as heat to the surroundings
energy is lost in waste materials, such as faeces