Ecology Lab 1 PDF

**Introduction to Practical Ecology** Ecology is the study of an organism or organisms and their relationship to the environment. An organism's environment consists of the physical, chemical and biological components. Biotic factors (physical and chemical parameters) are the non-living components o...

**Introduction to Practical Ecology** Ecology is the study of an organism or organisms and their relationship to the environment. An organism's environment consists of the physical, chemical and biological components. Biotic factors (physical and chemical parameters) are the non-living components of the environment which include: -- Temperature -- Sunlight -- Water -- Wind -- Pressure -- Soil/substrate  **Measurement of a biotic factors** Biotic factors are easy to measure using simple instruments and equipment. First: Temperature measurements Temperature is a physical property of matter that quantitatively expresses the common notions of hot and cold. Quantitatively, temperature is measured with thermometers, which may be calibrated to a variety of temperature scales. Most of the world uses the Celsius scale (°C) for most temperature measurements. A few countries, most notably the United States, use the Fahrenheit scale for common purposes, a historical scale on which water freezes at 32 °F and boils at 212 °F. Some countries preferred the Kelvin scale in which water freeze at 273.15 and boils at 373.15 K. **For purpose to convert one temperature scale to another we can used the following equations**  Convert Fahrenheit to Celsius -------------------------------------------- ------------------------------- Celsius to Fahrenheit Convert Celsius to Fahrenheit  Convert Celsius to Kelvin Kelvin to Celsius Convert Kelvin to Celsius **Example 1** Convert 26° Celsius *(A nice warm day!)* to Fahrenheit *First:* 26° × 9/5 = 234/5 = 46.8 *Then:* 46.8 + 32 = **78.8° F** **Example 2** Convert 98.6° Fahrenheit *(Normal Body Temperature!)* to Celsius *First:* 98.6° - 32 = 66.6 *Then:* 66.6× 5/9 = 333/9 = **37° C** **Example 3** Convert 27° C to Kelvin. K = 27 + 273 K = 300 300 K Temperature is commonly measured by using the different types of thermometers such as **a. Liquid thermometer** An instrument for measuring temperature, often a sealed glass tube that has a column of liquid, as mercury, that expands and contracts, or rises and falls, with temperature changes, the temperature being read where the top of the column coincides with a calibrated scale marked on the tube or its frame of the most common kinds Alcohol thermometer and Mercury-in-glass thermometer. **Liquid thermometer principle**: relation between temperature and volume of a liquid **How to use it** 1\. Put the thermometer in the ground or water and leave for the heat to take effect. 2\. Read the scale and carefully, wipe the thermometer and repeat a several times for the area. **b. Maximum and minimum thermometer** **The purpose of use** Thermometer that records the highest and lowest temperatures reached during a period of time. **How maximum and minimum thermometers work?** Maximum-minimum thermometers are typically U-shaped parallel tubes of glass. One side registers the minimum temperature, while the other registers the maximum temperature since its last reading. The bend at the bottom of the thermometer has the liquid mercury, which moves up and down based on contractions of the oil or alcohol located in the two bulbs at the top of the thermometer. The contractions of the alcohol or oil is the result of thermal changes in the environment causing it to expand or contract.