Use this drawing of the photosynthesis process for students ..

Making an aquarium or a terrarium is not a complicated thing. Learning to build them isvery useful for those who are fond of breeding animals, observing them, taking picturesand movies. You can use an aquarium to breed fish, amphibians, protists, algae, artemia,shrimps, etc. You can use a terrarium to breed many species of animals, but avoid raisingspecies which suffer in captivity. Aquaria and terrariums can be used also to take picturesof animals temporarily taken from their environment.
In their simpler form, acquaria and terrariums are simple glass boxes enclosed on 5 sidesand which can be provided with a lid. This simple container is suitable to breedamphibians and as a terrarium. Aquaria for fish require a compartment for a filter, a pumpfor water circulation, another pump for air, a thermostat, lighting, etc. We'll deal ofthe simplest aquaria.
How you can build an aquarium? In first you have to make a drawing. The bottom glass hasto be surrounded by the other four walls and it has to be the thickest. The thickness ofthe plates has to be proportioned to the size of the aquarium. Avoid building too wide,and more importantly, too high an aquarium. The pressure of the water increases and couldunglue the plates. After having drawn the acquarium you have to cut the glass plates bymeans of a glasscutter. To do this keep the glasscutter vertical and push down with forcewhile you move it along a ruler. This operation require practice, so use some scrap piecesuntil you have the necessary manual ability. It is important you use a sharp glasscutter,kept in oil to avoid rust. Before gluing the slabs, you have to round off the edges withsandpaper in order to remove their sharp edges. With some acetone, clean the slabs wherethe silicone rubber will be deposited. As the acetone is toxic, work outdoor or in a wellventilate piece. Use high quality transparent silicone. To keep the internal walls free ofexcessive glue, on the slabs and near the gluing positions, place stripes of sticking tape(figure 6). When the silicone is cured, remove these stripes and the excess glue.
: handling and cutting glass is a dangerousoperation which has to be made only by adult people wearing gloves and a heavy apron. Away to elegantly solve this problem is to order plates. A hardware or building supplystore can help. Never move aquaria and terrariums containing water or stones, move them onlywhen they are empty. Do not place aquaria in positions where a water leak could damagesomething below them, for example over electrical devices or sockets, and books. Onlyadults should handle glass-made aquaria or terrariums. Give children transparent plastictanks. Do not keep dangerous or rare organisms. Do not breed and most important, do notfree species which do not belong to your environment! Do not free sick animals or plants.
Building Tanks
Reef Aquarium Guide
CyberAqua (list of links)
Internet keywords: aquarium glass homemade.

During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and sunlight to create fuel—glucose and other sugars—for building plant structures. This process forms the foundation of the fast (biological) carbon cycle. (Illustration adapted from P.J. Sellers et al., 1992.)

The area of the ocean where photosynthesis occurs is known ..

Ponds are among the richest and the most interesting natural environments to observe. Tomake a pond it is sufficient to have a garden or, a meadow or a wood near your home. It isnot necessary to be large, a square meter (9 square feet) of surface is sufficient, buttwo(18 sq. ft.) are better. Find a shady position in the garden. Dig a hole of about 2square meters, 50 cm(2 feet) deep. At least one side, the border has to gently slope downto allow to little animals to enter and leave, for hedgehogs and opossums to drink and tobirds to bath without being too deep. Put some sand in the bottom. Leave the grass on theside. Bare roots are okay. Waterproof the hole with a tarpaulin of white PVC. Why white?Because you can see aquatic animals better when they come near the shore. Cover the borderof the tarpaulin with the grass sod. Allow the tarpaulin to extend for at least 40 cm (16inches) beyond the sloping shore. In this position you can keep the water in such a way tocreate the typical conditions of a marsh. Fill up the pond with tap water and shovel somesand or soil in the bottom: they will benefit the aquatic plants. Go to a natural pond ormarsh and collect some aquatic plants. If it is possible, carry some gallons of water fromthe pond and pour them into your puddle, which will be enriched with microorganisms,algae, and animals, which live in ponds. In few days, your little pond will become greenwith algae and very rich of protozoa. Rapidly dragonflies will come to lay eggs, boatflies, coleoptera and aquatic spiders also will come. In the spring, frogs and newtswill come to lay eggs. The observation of the life in a pond is fascinating. You canremain for hours watching the organisms, which live in this ecosystem. Buy books torecognize the organisms that live in the ponds. See bibliography (5, 6). These texts willalso give you also useful information on the habits of these plants and animals. For anexercise, note your observations in a book, glue pictures, and sketch drawings. Everyyear, during the fall, you should clear out the pond. Shovel out the stinking mud, washthe tarpaulin, or changed it if it leaks, put some tap water, winter rain will supply theremaining part. In spite of what shopkeepers will tell you, your pond does not need pumpsto circulate water, nor aerators, nor falls, nor fountains, nor anything else. The pond isbetter to be as natural as possible. Little ponds of private gardens are very important toamphibians. Avoid introducing fish. They will eat the eggs of the amphibians and thetadpoles. Moreover, the newts will keep the pond free from the mosquito larvae. When thereare tadpoles, your pond will be visited by water snakes, with difficulty you will noticeof them!... and --- don't be frightened: they are harmless!
Pond Links
Pond Links
Multiple Microhabitat Pond Microcosm (good cross section of a pond)
A Large Pond
Pond Construction
Building a Pond
"Pond" Cultures of Microscopic Invertebrates
Internet keywords: pond building homemade.

An ecosystem consists of the whole community of living organisms (biocenosis), the abioticcomponent of a certain environment (biotope) and their relationships.
The relationships essentially consist in a flux of substances which pass from thenon-living components to living ones and in a flux of energy which passes from thephotosynthetic organisms (plants) to the herbivorous animals, then to carnivores. Thewastes and the dead organisms are then decomposed by the micro-organisms which brake downthe substances back to simple components, in a full cycle.
1 - With a shovel in a field or in a wood, dig a square hole of about half a meter (1 1/2feet) square and about 40 cm (18") deep. Describe the non-living components of thesoil and all forms of life you find: roots, earthworms, snails, centipedes, spiders,crickets, etc. To complete the description of the ecosystem of the soil, look forinformation on the role of each of these organisms and the relationships with the otherforms of life of this environment.
2 - In similar way you have studied the soil ecosystem, you can analyze other ecosystemssuch as the ones in a forest, pond, shore, or desert.
G. and L. Durrell (2) can be useful, or there are many other books on this matter.
An Illustration of a Soil Ecosystem
Protocols for a Soil Ecosystem Approach for Characterizing Soil Biodiversity
Internet keywords: soil ecosystem.

5: Marine Science Lesson Plan: Photosynthesis

our topic right now, namely photosynthesis,is arguably one of the most important chemical reactions occurring on theplanet. Let's see why.