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Patterns and processes of evolution. How evolution and natural selection are reflected in the similarities and differences of organisms. 

The amount of effort saved when using machines is called mechanical advantage (MA). Simple machines use mechanical advantage as a key property to their functionality, helping humans perform tasks that would require more force than a person could produce. We will use the lever as an example of a simple machine to illustrate the concept of mechanical advantage.

Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers, consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.

In this unit we will learn how these factors can affect the output of a simple machine. We will also learn about the difference between ideal mechanical advantage (IMA) and actual mechanical advantage (AMA), and how to apply your knowledge to calculate the efficiency of various simple machines.

Mitosis, meiosis and sexual reproduction. Understanding gametes, zygotes, and haploid / diploid numbers.

The Calvin Cycle or the light-independent (dark) reactions of photosynthesis.

What are simple machines? Simple machines are tools that make work easier. They have few or no moving parts. These machines use energy to do work with one movement. They make our work easier by letting us use less mechanical effort to move an object.

In this lesson you will learn about:

• Simple machines
• Be able to identify different kinds of machines
• Identify classes of levers and pulleys
• Determine mechanical advantage of a lever and pulleys
• Understand and determine the advantage of an inclined plane
• Describe and determine the advantage of a screw jack
• Describe and determine the advantage of a wheel and axel
• Describe and determine the advantage of a hydraulic press

Introduction to viruses

We can analyse the arrows in a food web to identify producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and decomposers.