Humus

Humus is the organic component of soil, formed by the decomposition of leaves and other plant material by soil microorganisms. This soil contains the nutrients for plants to grow. The better the humus in the soil the better your plants will grow. In nature, humus is constantly introduced into soil as plant debris, dead animals, and other organic matter that decomposes on the ground.  (http://www.green-trust.org/wordpress/2010/08/15/what-is-humus/)



( cheap dirt from my very own garden! Humus is in soil therefore this is classified as humus)

Fungi

Fungi are classified in their own Kingdom. They are neither plant or animal. It is similar to a plant but has no chlorophyll to aid in making their own food. They absorb nutrients from their surroundings for food. Fungi breaks things down and return nutrients to the soil. 


Examples of Fungi:

• Mushrooms
• rusts
• smuts
• truffles
• yeasts
• molds

(http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212089/fungi.htm)

(Mushrooms have the spore bearing fruiting body of a fungus. Like Fungi they are not a plant and cannot undergo photosynthesis. )

      

Bacteria

( Scary to imagine hundreds of bacteria on your toilets but there are. Bacteria is everywhere and your toilet is just one of the places. Bacteria thrive in moist areas, and live off organic waste, which can be found in nearly every public and home restroom.)

They are a large domain of single-cell, prokaryote microorganisms. Bacteria is nor plant or animal but in a class of its own. Bacteria comes in three main shapes: spherical, rod shaped, and spiral. They are found everywhere from toilets, soil, water, plants, animals, deep in the earth's crust, arctic glaciers, bathtubs, and your showers. You can't escape them, they follow you where ever you go. (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/157973.php)

Autotroph

Autotroph comes from the Greek "auto" meaning "self" and "troph" meaning "nutrition." Autotrophs are therefore "self-feeders."  It is the ability to be self-sustained by producing food  and energy from inorganic compounds such as carbon dioxide. This includes plants and algae.
(http://factoidz.com/what-is-an-autotroph-how-plants-make-energy)

( A flower is an example of an autotroph. It feeds itself and gains energy by photosynthesis)

Enzymes

Enzymes are proteins that serve as catalysts. They speed up or slow down reactions while remaining unchanged. 

Three basic functions:

• increase the rate of reaction
• act specifically with only on reactant also called substrate to produce products
• regulates from a state of low activity to high and vice versa

(http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/570enzymes.html)

Lipases (enzymes acting on lipids)
fats/oils (+ water) _Lipases(enzyme)______ fatty acids + glycerol


(http://www.biotopics.co.uk/other/morinf.html)

Osmosis

Osmosis is a process which the movement of water molecules from a solution of higher water potential to a solution of lower water potential through a partially permeable membrane, and is present in animal or plant cells.
http://www.vivo.colostate.edu/hbooks/cmb/cells/pmemb/osmosis.html

(An example of osmosis would be dipping a sponge into water, because there is a higher concentration outside, so the water goes in and makes the sponge expand.)

Cohesion

Cohesion is the sticking together of particles in one particular substance. Also know as attraction between molecules. Cohesion of water is how well it sticks to itself. It is caused by hydrogen bonds.

(Water is an example of this. It is strongly cohesive as each molecule makes four hydrogen bonds to other water molecules in a tetrahedral configuration.)