UNIT 5: SPANISH POPULATION

What are we going to learn?

• What groups of population there are
• What density of population is
• The concepts of natural and actual increase
• Migratory movements in Spain

The Spanish population increased significantly during the 20th century. This was primarily due to the promotion and improvement of sanitation and also due to an increase in immigration. Spain has a population of 46 million, five million of whom are immigrants.

The absolute population of an area is the number of inhabitants in that area. It is constantly changing. To understand the changes in a population we have to look at the birth rates and death rates and immigration and emigration statistics. Demography is the science that studies it.

Natural increase is the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths.

• A positive natural increase means the birth rate is higher than the death rate. The absolute population increases.
• A negative natural increase means the death rate is higher than the birth rate. The absolute population decreases.

ACTIVITIES:

1. Use your computers to learn about the population in other countries: CLICK HERE

          Write down the population of: France, Portugal, United Kingdom, Italy and Germany.

      2. Observe how the human population has changed over time CLICK HERE (click on "Launch              interactive")

5.1 ELEMENTS OF ECOSYSTEMS

An ecosystem includes all the living things and non living things in a specific area and the interaction that occurs between them.

Living things in an ecosystem are called biotic factors:

• plants (flora)
• animals (fauna)
• other organisms such as fungi and microoganisms

Organisms in the same area form groups. Those that belong to the same species are called  population.
Populations interact with each other and form a community. Populations also interact with environment.

The non-living components of an ecosystem are called abiotic factors:

• soil
• air
• water
• sunlight
• temperature
• climate

1. Look at the picture of the forest. 

1. Identify examples of flora and fauna.
2. Make a list of the populations you can see in the picture.
3. Name the non-living components of the forest above.

LAB EQUIPMENT

UNIT 5: ECOSYSTEMS

What are we going to learn?

• What an ecosystems is
• Elements of ecosystems
• Interactions between living things
• Understand a food chain
• Types of natural and artificial ecosystems
• Human influence in ecosystems

What is an Ecosystem?

An ecosystem includes all of the living things (plants, animals and organisms) in a given area, interacting with each other, and also with their non-living environments (weather, earth, sun, soil, climate, atmosphere). Ecosystems are the foundations of the Biosphere and they determine the health of the entire earth system.  

In an ecosystem, each organism has its own role to play.

Consider a small puddle at the back of your home. In it, you may find all sorts of living things, from microorganisms to insects and plants. These may depend on non-living things like water, sunlight, turbulence in the puddle, temperature, atmospheric pressure and even nutrients in the water for life. 

4.4. Plant reproduction

SEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Parts of a plant that allow reproduction:

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTON

4.4. Territorial organisation in Spain

THE AUTONOMOUS COMMUNITIES

In 1978 Spanish Constitution established the autonomous communities.
The communities are divided into provinces and municipalities.

What is an autonomous community?

It is an area of Spain that shares geographical, historical and cultural characteristics. They all have a capital, except Canary Islands, which have two.

Spain also has two autonomous cities: Ceuta and melilla. They have less power that the autonomous communities, but more than an ordinary city.

Play this game

4.3. Plant nutrition and respiration

RESPIRATION

NUTRITION

Autotrophism

Most plants are autotrophs, organisms that synthesize all their own organic nutrients and do not rely on other organisms for food. 
The reason that plants are autotrophic is that they carry out photosynthesis in their leaves. In the process of photosynthesis, the plant converts water, carbon dioxide, and light energy into oxygen, sugars, and more water. The oxygen is released into the surrounding air through the stomata, and the sugars (organic nutrients) are transported throughout the plant body to areas of growth and storage.

AT THE LAB: Seed germination process

TYPES OF SEEDS

4.2. Classification of plants

PLANT CLASSIFICATION

Watch the ppt ⇒  FLOWERING AND NON-FLOWERING PLANTS

FLOWERING PLANTS

Flowering plants are the biggest group of plants on Earth. Most flowering plants use sexual reproduction. These plants reproduce through seeds and produce them in two different ways:

1. 

2. 

4.3. How is Spain organised?

How is Spain organised?

1. LEGISLATIVE POWER
Legislative power is held by Parliament. Parliament is the institution that represents the people. In Spain, the name of the Parliament is the Cortes Generales. It makes laws, approves the state budget, and controls the decisions the Government makes.
It is made up of two parts:

• The Congress of Deputies: Its members are called deputies. It has 350 members.
• The Senate: its members are called senators. It has 266 members.

Both deputies and senators can make and develop laws, but the deputies can vote against a law developed by the senators.
The main function of the senators is to represent the Autonomous Communities.
Spanish citizens vote for members of Parliament in general elections every four years.

2. EXECUTIVE POWER
After the general elections, the party with the most votes forms the Government.
The Government of Spain is made up of:
The Prime Minister: he is elected by the Congress of Deputies.
The ministers: They are appointed by the Prime Minister. They work in different areas, such as education, healthcare, defence or economy.

3. JUDICIAL POWER

It belongs to courts and tribunals, composed of judges and magistrates. They ensure that the laws are obeyed.
The judiciary is made of:
1. Courts of first instance: A judge presides over each court. Courts are found in most important towns and cities.

2. Higher courts:

• the Supreme Court that is the most important court. People appeal to this court if they are not satisfied with the decision of a lower court.
• the Constitutional Court that decides if laws introduced by Parliament are in accordance with the Constitution.

4.2. The Constitution

Spain is a democratic state in Europe. The fundamental law of the Spanish state is the Constitution.

Democracy means that:

• Everybody has the same rights and obligations. For example, we are all free to express our ideas, but we have to obey the law.
• We are all equal in the eyes of the law, whatever our gender, race or religion.
• Power resides with the people, who freely elect those who govern them.

In Spain, the head of state is the monarch.

The Constitution

It is the most important law in Spain. It was approved on 6th December 1978. It defines the organization os Spanish territory, the organisation of the government and the rights and responsabilities of citizens.
The Constitution establishes the system of government in Spain:

• Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, which means the king is head of state, but he does not govern.
• It is a democracy. This means that those in power must obey the law like any other citizen.
• The state has an obligation to guarantee the wellbeing of its citizens (through the welfare state).

The Constitution is organized in ten parts:

• Part I refers to fundamental rights and duties, which receive special treatment and protection under Spanish law. 
• Part II refers to the regulation of the Crown.
• Part III elaborates on Spain's legislature, the Cortes Generales. 
• Part IV refers to the Government of Spain, the executive power, and the Public Administration.
• Part V refers to the relations between the Government and the Cortes Generales; as a parliamentary monarchy, the Prime Minister is invested by the legislature and the Government is responsible before the legislature. 
• Part VI refers to the organization of the judicial power.
• Part VII refers to the principles that shall guide the economy and the finances of the Spanish state.
• Part VIII refers to the "territorial organization of the State" and establishes a unitary state that is nevertheless decentralized. This is referred to as an autonomous state or state of the autonomies (Estado de las Autonomías). 
• Part IX refers to the Constitutional Court, which oversees the constitutionality of all laws and protects the fundamental rights in Part I. 
• Part X refers to constitutional amendments.

English version of the Constitution

⇨What are the fundamental rights? Write three of these rights.

Rights and responsibilities of citizens.

The Constitution defines rights and responsibilities that all Spanish citizens should respect.

We have the obligation to...

UNIT 4: SPAIN'S POLITICS AND CULTURE

What are we going to learn?

- The symbols that represent our country.
- Our Constitution.
- Rights and responsabilities of citizens.
- How Spain is organised.
- The Autonomous Communities.

4.1. SYMBOLS OF SPAIN

• The flag.

It is described in the Spanish Constitution of 1978, it consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the size of each red stripe.

•  The coat of arms.

• Coat of Arms: The country's coat of arms is composed of six other coats of arms, including those of Aragon, House of Bourbon, Castile, Granada, Leon and Navarre.
  On either side of the Coat of Arms are the Pillars of Hercules and the Spanish national motto "Plus Ultra", further beyond. It is topped by the royal crown of Spain.

• The National anthem.

It is called the "Marcha Real" and it has no official lyrics.

4.1. Characteristics of plants

CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTS
Plants are multicellular and eukaryotic, meaning their cells have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.

Roots and Shoots

• Terrestrial plants share a few defining characteristics, structural as well as functional. Perhaps the most basic shared feature of most plants is their division into shoots and roots. The separation between these two portions of the plant came about during the evolutionary move from an aqueous environment to a terrestrial one, and each part is essential in its own way to the plants' ability to survive on land.

1. The root, defined as the portion of a plant beneath the soil, brings in essential water and minerals from the soil. It also anchors the plant to the substrate, providing stability.
2. The shoot includes all aerial plant structures such as stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. The shoot gathers the carbon dioxide and light energy necessary for photosynthesis, provides surfaces for gas exchange, and contains the plant's reproductive organs. 

Parts of a plant

UNIT 4: THE PLANT KINGDOM

Complete the chart:

VOCABULARY