GRADE 10 – LIFE SCIENCES
TERM 1: BIOSPHERE TO ECOSYSTEMS
2025
TERMINOLOGY
Ecology The study of the relationships of living organisms with one another and with their
environment is the science known as ecology. The word ecology comes from the
Greek words that mean "study of the home."
Biosphere The biosphere is the region of the earth that encompasses all living organisms:
plants, animals and bacteria. It is a feature that distinguishes the earth from the other
planets in the solar system. "Bio" means life. Another term sometimes used is
ecosphere ("eco" meaning home)
Lithosphere The lithosphere is the upper, rigid layer of the Earth.
Hydrosphere The Hydrosphere contains all the water on Earth. The term hydrosphere comes from
the Greek word hydro means "water" that describes the collective mass of water
found on, under, and over a planet's surface. It includes oceans, but technically
includes clouds, inland seas, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and underground waters
Biomes Defined as the major climatic regions of the world, classified according to their
predominant vegetation and characterised by adaptations of organisms to that
particular environment.
Ecotone A transition zone, an Ecotone contains a variety of plants and animals. For example,
an ecotone might be a transition region between grassland and a desert, with
species from both.
Ecosystems A community plus the physical environment that it occupies at a given time
Abiotic factors Non-living factors. E.g. soil, air.
Biotic factors Living factors. E.g. trees, insects.
Producer Organism that manufactures food by photosynthesis.
Herbivore An organism that feeds on plants only
Carnivore An organism that feeds on animals (meat) only.
Omnivore An organism that feeds on both plants and animals
Saprotroph An organism that feeds on dead and decaying matter. (fungi)
Decomposer An organism that causes the decay of dead and dying organisms. (bacteria)
Scavenger An organism that feeds on remains of animals.
Predator An animal that hunts for its food.
Prey An animal that is hunted and is food for the predator.
Food chain A chain showing feeding relationships between organisms. Simple chain of feeding
relationship between three or four organisms is called a food chain
Greenhouse gases Methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide
Fossil fuels Natural substances made deep within the earth by the decomposition of plants and
animal remains over millions of years
Food web A network of food chains which are interconnected at various trophic levels, so as to
form a number of feeding connections amongst different organisms of a biotic
community.
Food pyramid Graphic representation of the structure of a food chain, depicted as a pyramid having
a broad base formed by producers and tapering to a point formed by end consumers.
Between successive levels, total biomass decreases as energy is lost from the
system
, Concept of the Biosphere
Earth science generally recognizes four spheres:
• the lithosphere,
• the hydrosphere,
• the atmosphere,
• and the biosphere - as correspondent to soil, water, air, and life.
Scientists study the various parts of the Earth, Earth science (also known as geoscience, the
geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet
Earth. They look at botany (plants), zoology (animals), geology (rocks), and physics (forces), but few
have studied how all of these work together. The Earth is a whole system that works together. This
means that there is an interconnection between all of Earth’s living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic)
parts.
1. BIOSPHERE
The biosphere includes the outer region of the earth (the lithosphere) and the lower region of the
atmosphere (the troposphere). It also includes the hydrosphere, the region of lakes, oceans, streams,
ice and clouds comprising the earth's water resources. Dynamic interactions occur between the biotic
region (biosphere) and the abiotic regions (atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere) of the earth.
Energy, water, gases and nutrients are exchanged between the regions on various spatial and time
scales. For example, the chemical processes like photosynthesis, respiration, carbonate formation.
The interactive processes between the biosphere and the abiotic regions work to maintain a balance.
The ecology of the earth can be studied at various levels: an individual (organism), a population, a
community, an ecosystem, a biome or the entire biosphere. The variety of living organisms that inhabit
an environment is a measure of its biodiversity.
2. LITHOSPHERE
The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust
covering entire planet. This crust is inorganic
and is composed of minerals. The lithosphere
consists of the crust and the top of the mantle
(see core and mantle). It is about 100 km thick.
Fast earthquake waves show that the top of the
mantle is as rigid as the crust, although
chemically it is different. Lithosphere means
ball of stone. The lithosphere is broken into 20
or so slabs, called tectonic plates. The
continents sit on top of these plates. The hard
rocky surface of the Earth is Earth’s mantle, is
the hot, soft made up of the 20 or so strong
rigid plates of rock of the lithosphere.
TERM 1: BIOSPHERE TO ECOSYSTEMS
2025
TERMINOLOGY
Ecology The study of the relationships of living organisms with one another and with their
environment is the science known as ecology. The word ecology comes from the
Greek words that mean "study of the home."
Biosphere The biosphere is the region of the earth that encompasses all living organisms:
plants, animals and bacteria. It is a feature that distinguishes the earth from the other
planets in the solar system. "Bio" means life. Another term sometimes used is
ecosphere ("eco" meaning home)
Lithosphere The lithosphere is the upper, rigid layer of the Earth.
Hydrosphere The Hydrosphere contains all the water on Earth. The term hydrosphere comes from
the Greek word hydro means "water" that describes the collective mass of water
found on, under, and over a planet's surface. It includes oceans, but technically
includes clouds, inland seas, lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, and underground waters
Biomes Defined as the major climatic regions of the world, classified according to their
predominant vegetation and characterised by adaptations of organisms to that
particular environment.
Ecotone A transition zone, an Ecotone contains a variety of plants and animals. For example,
an ecotone might be a transition region between grassland and a desert, with
species from both.
Ecosystems A community plus the physical environment that it occupies at a given time
Abiotic factors Non-living factors. E.g. soil, air.
Biotic factors Living factors. E.g. trees, insects.
Producer Organism that manufactures food by photosynthesis.
Herbivore An organism that feeds on plants only
Carnivore An organism that feeds on animals (meat) only.
Omnivore An organism that feeds on both plants and animals
Saprotroph An organism that feeds on dead and decaying matter. (fungi)
Decomposer An organism that causes the decay of dead and dying organisms. (bacteria)
Scavenger An organism that feeds on remains of animals.
Predator An animal that hunts for its food.
Prey An animal that is hunted and is food for the predator.
Food chain A chain showing feeding relationships between organisms. Simple chain of feeding
relationship between three or four organisms is called a food chain
Greenhouse gases Methane, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide
Fossil fuels Natural substances made deep within the earth by the decomposition of plants and
animal remains over millions of years
Food web A network of food chains which are interconnected at various trophic levels, so as to
form a number of feeding connections amongst different organisms of a biotic
community.
Food pyramid Graphic representation of the structure of a food chain, depicted as a pyramid having
a broad base formed by producers and tapering to a point formed by end consumers.
Between successive levels, total biomass decreases as energy is lost from the
system
, Concept of the Biosphere
Earth science generally recognizes four spheres:
• the lithosphere,
• the hydrosphere,
• the atmosphere,
• and the biosphere - as correspondent to soil, water, air, and life.
Scientists study the various parts of the Earth, Earth science (also known as geoscience, the
geosciences or the Earth Sciences), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet
Earth. They look at botany (plants), zoology (animals), geology (rocks), and physics (forces), but few
have studied how all of these work together. The Earth is a whole system that works together. This
means that there is an interconnection between all of Earth’s living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic)
parts.
1. BIOSPHERE
The biosphere includes the outer region of the earth (the lithosphere) and the lower region of the
atmosphere (the troposphere). It also includes the hydrosphere, the region of lakes, oceans, streams,
ice and clouds comprising the earth's water resources. Dynamic interactions occur between the biotic
region (biosphere) and the abiotic regions (atmosphere, lithosphere and hydrosphere) of the earth.
Energy, water, gases and nutrients are exchanged between the regions on various spatial and time
scales. For example, the chemical processes like photosynthesis, respiration, carbonate formation.
The interactive processes between the biosphere and the abiotic regions work to maintain a balance.
The ecology of the earth can be studied at various levels: an individual (organism), a population, a
community, an ecosystem, a biome or the entire biosphere. The variety of living organisms that inhabit
an environment is a measure of its biodiversity.
2. LITHOSPHERE
The lithosphere is the solid, rocky crust
covering entire planet. This crust is inorganic
and is composed of minerals. The lithosphere
consists of the crust and the top of the mantle
(see core and mantle). It is about 100 km thick.
Fast earthquake waves show that the top of the
mantle is as rigid as the crust, although
chemically it is different. Lithosphere means
ball of stone. The lithosphere is broken into 20
or so slabs, called tectonic plates. The
continents sit on top of these plates. The hard
rocky surface of the Earth is Earth’s mantle, is
the hot, soft made up of the 20 or so strong
rigid plates of rock of the lithosphere.
