| POPULATIONS
AND ECOSYSTEMS COURSE MATRIX |
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SYNOPSIS |
SCIENCE
CONCEPTS |
PROCESSES |
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1. |
Milkweed
Bugs (3+ sessions)
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|
In an
8-week investigation, students raise milkweed bugs in a supportive
habitat to study the insect’s reproductive biology. The
information from this study is used to study milkweed-bug population
dynamics in Investigation 6. |
•
An organism is any living thing.
• An organism’s habitat is where it lives—the
place where it can meet all of its requirements.
• Milkweed bugs have a predictable life cycle.
• A kind of organism that is different from other kinds
is a species. |
•
Observe milkweed-bug individuals and populations to monitor
changes.
• Describe and communicate a sequence of events during
a long-term study.
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2. |
Sorting
Out Life (2–3 sessions) |
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Students
use ecosystem sorting cards to reflect on organizing concepts
in ecology and develop the vocabulary associated with those
concepts. Through a Jane Goodall video, students become familiar
with a specific population study of chimpanzees. |
•
A population is all the interacting individuals of one kind
in an area.
• A community is all the interacting populations in a
specified area.
• An ecosystem is a system of interacting organisms and
nonliving factors in a specified area. |
•
Analyze and sort images on cards to determine which represent
individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems.
• Identify biotic and abiotic elements.
• Relate the characteristics of a population, community,
and ecosystem. |
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3. |
Miniecosystems
(3+ sessions) |
|
Students
construct aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in the classroom
and observe them over time to understand ecosystem interactions.
They use a group scientific log to observe, describe, and monitor
changes in biotic and abiotic factors. |
•
An aquatic ecosystem functions in water.
• A terrestrial system functions on land.
• An ecosystem is a web of interactions and relationships
among the organisms and abiotic factors in an area. |
•
Use reference information about organisms to construct a classroom
ecosystem.
• Observe, describe, and record changes to an ecosystem,
using a scientific log.
• Describe the relationships among biotic and abiotic
factors. |
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4. |
Mono
Lake (3 sessions) |
|
Students
use Mono Lake, an important alkaline lake, as a simple ecosystem
case study. They study the functional roles of populations to
construct a food web. |
•
The sequence of organisms that eat one another is a food chain.
• All the feeding relationships in an ecosystem define
the food web for that system.
• The Mono Lake ecosystem is defined by interactions among
organisms and physical factors. |
•
Research the functional roles of organisms in an ecosystem.
• Use data to construct feeding relationships (food web).
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5. |
Finding
the Energy (7 sessions) |
|
Students
measure energy in food by burning it. They learn that food is
produced by photosynthetic organisms and explore how food energy
moves from one trophic level to another through feeding relationships. |
•
Food is energy-rich organic matter that organisms need for life.
• Energy is measured in kilocalories.
• In photosynthesis, food is made from water and carbon
dioxide with light.
• Feeding relationships define trophic levels: producers,
consumers, and decomposers. |
•
Investigate and measure the amount of energy from a food source.
• Determine the mass of production needed to support primary,
secondary, and third-level consumers.
• Relate food webs to trophic levels.
• Infer how energy moves through an ecosystem. |
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page 4
of 8 |
