This week you studied three biogeochemical cycles. Your assignment this week is to create a pool and process model of one of the three cycles.
Notably, models are simplifications of reality, used to help us understand a system, make predictions, etc… Your models may not have every nuance of the cycle you choose included in it, but it should be robust enough to be used to study the system and make predictions.
The type of model you are to use is a “pool and process” model, otherwise known as a “box and arrow” model. As you construct your model, you will draw a box for each pool in the cycle and draw an arrow for each process. Notably, the boxes/pools are where the material hangs out, and the arrows/processes show how the material moves from one pool to another. The diagrams in your textbook and lesson will be helpful…. and the video clip will be VERY helpful.
1. Choose one of the three cycles. Ultimately you will be responsible for all 3 cycles. I will be posting the best models of each cycle for everyone to view and study. (Be sure to watch the video clips first. I give LOTS of hints for these cycles in the clips… especially for carbon and nitrogen.)
2. Sketch your pool and process model on a piece of paper. The boxes represent the pools, and the arrows represent the processes. Be sure you label all the boxes and arrows.
Hints to get started:
3. Use the following online whiteboard (or something similar) to create a pdf file to submit. *
A Web Whiteboard: http://awwapp.com/draw.html (Links to an external site.)
* You can also choose to scan or take a photo of the diagram you create simply by writing on paper, just be sure it is completely legible. The whiteboard is fun though. I encourage you to use it. Don’t worry about getting too fancy, you just need boxes, arrows, and text. If you know of another whiteboard-like program, you can use that instead too.
* Lastly… be sure all of your pools have boxes around the names, and be sure all your processes (arrows) are labeled too.
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