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4.8 describe the stages in the water cycle, including evaporation, transpiration,
condensation and precipitation.
4.9 describe the stages in the carbon cycle, including respiration, photosynthesis,
decomposition and combustion
4.10 describe the stages in the nitrogen cycle, including the roles of nitrogen fixing
bacteria, decomposers, nitrifying bacteria and denitrifying bacteria (specific names
of bacteria are not required).
b) Feeding relationships
4.5 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of
biomass and pyramids of energy transfer
HUMAN BIOLOGY
14. Environment
h) Understand the scientific principles used in the purification, distribution and storage
of water.
e) Describe the transfer of substances and of energy along a food chain.
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The heat of the sun vaporizes water from land and sea. Water vapor is given off also in the
Transpiration of plants and in the breathing of human beings and animals. Under certain conditions the
water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and forms clouds. In clouds rain, snow, hail, or sleet sometimes
form and, by the force of gravity, fall to earth.
Part of the water that falls on land flows along or near the surface of the ground to rivers, which carry
it to the sea. This water, called run-off, is the chief cause of floods and erosion. Another part of the
water is absorbed by the soil. Part of this water is evaporated by the sun, part is used by plants, and
part seeps down to become groundwater.
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Carbon Cycle, the series of natural processes by which carbon in the air is made available to living things,
is used by them, and is then returned to the air. Such food-making organisms as plants and algae need
carbon to form carbohydrates, which are essential for growth. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air;
through photosynthesis, the carbon dioxide is combined with water to form carbohydrates. Other living
things, such as animals, need carbohydrates for energy, but, unlike plants, cannot manufacture their own.
Herbivores obtain carbohydrates by eating green plants and metabolize (chemically break down) the
carbohydrates into useful substances. Carnivores, in turn, obtain these useful substances by eating
herbivores. Carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere when the animals breathe
(RESPIRATION). Small amounts of carbon dioxide are released into the air by the decomposition of
dead organisms by the action of certain bacteria and fungi. The burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, also
releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
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