foundation.2.1 A tree as a system

Sort each component of the tree system into the correct category. Work through these questions in order, and stop at the first one you can answer yes to. 1. Does it cross the boundary of the tree, coming in or going out? Then it is an input or an output, even though it is also moving. 2. Is it held inside the tree? Then it is a store. 3. Does it move inside the tree without changing? Then it is a flow or transfer. 4. Does it change in form or state? Then it is a process or transformation. Some things appear more than once in different forms: water leaves as vapour (an output) because transpiration turned it from liquid into gas (a process). That is the point of the activity, not a trick.

INPUTS

crossing the boundary, into the tree

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STORES

held inside the tree

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OUTPUTS

crossing the boundary, out of the tree

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FLOWS / TRANSFERS

movement within the tree, no change

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PROCESSES / TRANSFORMATIONS

changes in form or state

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Solar radiation (light energy)

Heat from the environment

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere

Oxygen from the atmosphere for cellular respiration

Water (H₂O) from soil via roots

Nutrients from soil (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium etc.)

Pollen (from other trees)

Wind (kinetic energy)

Water (in all tissues)

Leaf biomass

Woody biomass (trunk and branches)

Root biomass

Stored starch (in trunk and roots)

Nutrients (in tissues)

Oxygen (O₂) from photosynthesis

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) from cellular respiration

Water vapour leaving through the stomata

Heat (metabolic waste)

Reflected solar radiation

Fallen leaves (leaf litter)

Dead branches and bark

Fruits and seeds

Pollen (released by this tree)

Water transport (roots → leaves via xylem, pulled by transpiration)

Sugar transport (leaves → roots via phloem)

Nutrient transport (roots → leaves in the xylem sap)

Nutrient resorption (from old leaves back into twigs)

Gas diffusion through the air spaces inside the leaf

Hormones and signals

Photosynthesis: light energy + CO₂ + H₂O → glucose + O₂

Cellular respiration: glucose + O₂ → CO₂ + H₂O + ATP

Transpiration: liquid water → water vapour

Synthesis: simple sugars → starch and cellulose

Nitrogen assimilation: nitrate ions → amino acids and proteins

Senescence: chlorophyll broken down as leaves age

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