ANI AHWAI@SMK SANDAKAN BESTARI 1

Biodiversity is not only important to the environment, but also to the well-being of Man.


Importance of biodiversity to Man.

1.Raw materials.
Many plants and animals provide various goods of products to humans, many of which play important roles in human economies.


2.Food
Plant and animal diversity provides a variety of food for Man.


3.Medicines and herbs
Many plants are rich sources of traditional and modern medicines. These are used to treat and prevent diseases.


4.Genetic diversity
The wealth of gene pools increases diversity in future generations. Eg: for better crops.


5.Ecology
All species are supported by the interactions among other species, each providing an ecological value to another such as pollination, nutrient cycling and also the regulation of the atmosphere and climate.

Plant and trees provide oxygen to the atmosphere; wetlands and forest provide clean water through filtration.
DIVERSITY IN ABUNDANCE
THE DIVERSITY OF ABThe variety of living organisms on Earth is known as biodiversity or biological diversity. Not only is it found in vertebrates, it also present in plants, invertebrates and microorganisms.

In addition, biodiversity exists at all levels of habitats and climates, such as forests, island, coral reefs, mountaintops and deserts.

Generally, there are three levels of biodiversity, and they are defined as below.

Genetic diversity

•The variation in genes within and between populations.

Species diversity

•The variation in the number and distribution of species within and between populations.

Ecosystem diversity

•The variation in habitats, communities and ecological processes within and between ecosystems.
Of the three levels, the common measure of biodiversity is species diversity.

Eg: The level of biodiversity in a forest is higher than that in a paddy field because a greater number of species can be found in a forest.

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Fact:
The number of known species on Earth is recorded at approximately 1.6 million, most of which are insects. However, the actual number of species on Earth may be up to 30 million.


THE EXPERIMENT ABOUT AIR PRESSURE
This is very interesting experiment. All you need is a hard-boiled egg, a bottle, and three matchsticks.



Here's what you do:

1.Make sure the mouth of the bottle is just small enough to keep the egg from falling inside.
2.Set the bottle on the table, and peel the egg.
3.Light the three matchsticks and drop them into the bottle.
4.Quickly place the egg over the mouth of the bottle.




This is what you would observe... the egg is sucked into the bottle.


1. Discuss with your partner how you would explain this phenomena and write it out.
Explanation: The lit matchsticks heat the air inside the bottle. When air is heated, it expands. As the heated air expands, some of it escapes out of the bottle. When the matches go out, the air inside the bottle cools and contracts, thus creating a lower air pressure inside the bottle than outside. The greater pressure outside the bottle forces the egg into the bottle.

2. Now, what would you do to get the egg out of the bottle?
Turn the bottle upside down and blow into it.

3. Explain your method.
The increased air pressure in the bottle will cause the egg to pop back out.