Chapter 1

Through investigation, you will learn about the modern biosphere. You will begin by identifying the characteristics shared by all living things. Then you will look at the compounds from which life is made. Looking at different kinds of life will help you organize the living Earth into an understandable system. At a larger scale, you will find out about the relationship between climate and larger biological communities. With a focus on communities, you will look at how energy is stored and transferred through different kinds of living things. As an Earth systems scientist, you will then move out to a global scale and see how large parts of the biosphere play an important role in recycling elements through the Earth system.