​Producers

​Organisms that can make food are very important in the ecosystem. They can produce food for themselves, and the others that eat them.

​Chloroplasts

​Plant cells have a unique organelle called a chloroplast. Chloroplasts contain a pigment called chlorophyll, which is what absorbs solar energy so the plant can use it to make food.

​Chemical Reactions

​​Photosynthesis is an example of a chemical reaction.

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Reactants are the original molecules that go into the reaction. They are rearranged and used to make products, which is what comes out of the reaction.

​My Mommy <3

​This is my mom, Flor. Her name means "flower" in Spanish- and she really does love flowers!

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​She talks and sings to her plants as she waters them, and she insists it helps them grow better.

​Some people say talking to plants helps them grow because you are giving them more CO2 as you exhale more around them!

​Oceans & Oxygen Availability

​​There are organisms like animals found all over the planet, even in the deep ocean and they need oxygen to survive.

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​Examine the information on the following slide. It is a chart that examines the relationship between the depth of the ocean and the amount of oxygen available.

​​Examine the chart- what seems to be happening to the amount of oxygen the deeper you go into the ocean?

The Aphotic Zone

​The word "photo" means light.

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​Like in photosynthesis, where plants can use light to create sugar.

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​If we say there is an aphotic zone in the oceans, what do you think this means?

There are no plants in the aphotic zones of the ocean.

​Plants can not survive in the aphotic zones

​There is no sunlight, so there are no plants and no photosynthesis in the deep ocean zones.

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​For a long time, scientists thought this means there was no life in the deep oceans.

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​Until 1977- enter Robert Ballard and his expedition to the ocean floor.

​In 1977, Robert Ballard was the first scientist to discover there was life on the ocean floor. BUT- there are very different kinds of producers living in the deep ocean.

​Chemosynthesis

​There is no sunlight, so there are no plants or photosynthesis in the deep ocean.

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​The main kinds of producers are bacteria that do chemosynthesis, where they use chemicals released from the Earth to help them create sugar.