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Environment & environmental factors

Environment unit with lesson plans, activities, & lab notebook

Good environments are hard to find.

Overview

A sequence of plans or packet with activities and lab notes to facilitate a review and develop a deeper understanding of environments and environmental factors that are necessary to support life. Activities explore environmental factors of water, temperature, light, and chemical fertilizer with bean plants, shrimp eggs, isopods, and land snails.

Contents Overview

Background information:

This plan is designed for students who have very little prior knowledge of environmental factors.

Related study topics:

Big ideas, concepts, facts, and outcomes

Big ideas

  • Life requires optimal ranges of environmental factors for survival. Temperature, light, nutrients or food as a source of energy, water

Related concepts and facts

  • Better decisions (claims) are made when information is verified, with evidence and reasoning, before being considered accurate and used to reason and develop explanations and models to understand the world and make decisions.
  • People make better decision when they understand and consider the positive and negative influences that effect their decision making.

Outcome

Use accurate verifiable information to consider and decide how objects can be balanced or made more stable.

Science concepts: physical, earth, life

Big ideas:Th

Related concepts

Outcome

  1. S

Source Life science knowledge base

Science inquiry, process, & perspective concepts, facts, & outcomes

Big ideas: Science (claim evidence & reasoning) can be used to understand and explain cause and effect in the world.

Related concepts and facts

  • Variables describe properties that change and can be used to explain interactions.
  • Relative position describes changes in positions of objects when they are moved relative to a common position.
  • Systems are used to describe objects that interact together.
  • Interactions can be explained by describing how variables change within a system and how a system interacts with other objects or systems.
    • Objects change.
    • Change can be observed and recorded as before, during, after.
    • Change is observed through properties of the object.
    • Change can vary.
    • Constancy Somethings stay the same and some things change.
    • Constancy can sometimes be observed during a very slow rate of a change process or focusing on a particular property.
  • When I experiment I collect observations that describe how different properties change (become variables) when objects and systems interact. This helps me make claims, explain what is happening, and to predict what might happen in the future.
  • Inquiry concepts
  • Process concepts
  • Perspective concepts

Outcome

  1. Describe

Source

Pedagogical Overview

Activities Sequence to provide sufficient opportunities for students to achieve the targeted outcomes.

Make sure students have the prior knowledge identified in the background information.

  1. Activity 1 - What do you know about life?
  2. Activity 2 - Healthy beans
  3. Activity 3 - What's the temperature?
  4. Activity 4 - Environmental factors that effect bean plants 
  5. Activity 5 - Light as an Environmental factor
  6. Activity 6 - Water as an environmental factor for seeds 
  7. Activity 7 - Chemical fertilizer as an environmental factor
  8. Activity 8 - Environmental factor of salt for shrimp
  9. Activity 9 - Temperature as an environmental factor for animals
  10. Activity 10 - Light as an environmental factor for animals
  11. Activity 11 - Moisture as an environmental factor for isopods
  12. Activity 12 - Environmental factors for snails
  13. Activity 13 - Environment summary 
  14. Activity 14 - Environmental quotes for a Tee shirt

Focus question

Unit focus question:

What is

Sub focus questions:

  1. What is

Materials

  • T

Lab notes

References and other resources

 

Scoring guides suggestions (rubric)

Rotational motion (scoring guide)

Top level

  • Explains there is an optimal range of environmental factors like: temperature, light, water that are necessary for organism's survival.
  • Explains organisms die if they don't get water.

Lower level

Lesson Plans

Activity 1 - What do you know about life?

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. What is a community of life?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Review some vocabulary related to communities and write examples and definitions.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put learners in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Give learners lab notes with list of vocabulary to discuss.
  3. Bring class together and discuss list.
  4. Tell. Going to study communities and learn about how the organisms in them are interdependent.

Exploration -

  1. Put learners in pairs.
  2. Give them lab notes 1 What do you know about life? with a list of vocabulary related to a living community.
  3. Tell. Write an example for each word and if you can write a definition for each word.
  4. Vocabulary: plant, animal, predator, prey, population, organism, barrier, dispersal, plant, animal eaters, & bean

Invention -

  1. Bring class together and share their examples and definitions. Don't add information, beyond slight clarifications as asked.
  2. Mention coming activities as sources for more clarification.

Discover

Ask. How what do beans need to grow? Accept all answers and mention they will be planting beans.

 

Activity 2 - Healthy Beans 

Materials:

  • Beans, water, containers, light source, temperature control, soil or other substance
  • Lab note -

Focus questions:

  1. How are beans a part of a living community?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain how to grow a bean plant.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity grow a bean and chart its health.
  3. Describe conditions for healthy beans.

Exploration

  1. Put learners in pairs.
  2. Tell. Write a plan to grow a healthy bean that would make a farmer proud!
  3. Ask. What could be recorded every day as a measure of a bean plant's health?
  4. Describe how it can be recorded in the table below.
Date Data Other
   Table will have more rows  
     

 

Is there a way to graph the data? If there is, graph it.

Make a large class graph to chart bean health. Learns can place sticky dots with their initials or group name to represent their plants health.

We often think of plant health as how tall a plant is. However, a plant can get tall and leggy and not be as healthy as a shorter more full plant. May want to use height and leave size or width of plant or other measurement or indicator of health.

Invention

  1. Recall and review what makes healthy bean plants.
  2. Discuss how bean plants are part of a living community.

Discover

  • More plant activities to come.

Activity 3 - What's That Temperature?

Materials:

  • Thermometer, out door environment with suggested areas
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

  1. What's the temperature there?

Learning outcomes:

  • Explain how temperatures range in different locations within the environment of a community, depending on plant cover and materials.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity

Exploration

  1. Put learners in pairs.
  2. Go over outside classroom rules, areas to explore temperature, review use of thermometers, care of outdoor environment, and other suggestions.

Temperatures

Place Date:  Time: 
Table will have more rows ...    

 

3. Learners will collect the following data:

What is the outdoor temperature today? 

Record the temperature for several different places.

Suggestions:

  • On a hard surface, rock, cement, blacktop.
  • In a grassy place on the ground.
  • In a grassy place below the ground, tell how far below. 
  • In a grassy place at the top of the grass. 
  • In a wooded area on the ground.
  • In a wooded area below the ground, tell how far below.
  • In a wooded area 1 m above the ground.
  • If there is a pond around what is the temperature of the surface.
  • What is the temperature below the surface of the water, and how far below?

What did you discover?

 

4. Return to classroom and share data.

Invention

  1. Discuss how different temperatures, as an environmental factor, will effect different organisms and a community collectively.

Discovery

  1. Suggest temperature will be important to consider when studying the interdependence of communities.


 

Activity 4 - Environmental Factors That Effect Bean Plants 

Materials

Focus questions:

  1. What environmental factors effect bean plants and other living things in a community?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Classify environmental factors and abiotic and biotic.

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Use the lab notes to list environmental factors and classify them as biotic and abiotic.

Exploration

  1. Ask. What environmental factors effect bean plants and other living things in a community?
  2. Tell. Make a list of environmental factors you think might effect your bean plant's growth.
  3. Tell. Environmental factors may be divided into two groups: biotic and abiotic. 
    • Something is biotic if it is living or came from a living organism.  
    • Something is abiotic if it was never living or isn’t from a living organism.  
  4. Have them sort some of the factors they listed into biotic and abiotic.
  5. Tell. Select from the environmental factors in your list and write them in the appropriate column below.
Biotic Abiotic

 Table will have more rows ...

 

 

Invention

  1. Review and discuss the classification of the environmental factors.
  2. Ask. How do you know something is a biotic or abiotic?
  3. What makes it confusing?
  4. How do abiotic and biotic objects affect the interdependence of communities?

Discover

  1. Mention they will explore more about biotic and abiotic factors.

Activity 5 - Light As An Environmental Factor

Materials:

  • Seeds, pots, soil, and a black cap (can use a larger sheet of black construction paper and make a cone)
  • Lab notes

Focus questions:

  1. How will __ (bean) plants respond to light?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Explain

Suggested procedures overview:

  1. Put students in groups, focus their attention, and assess their initial understanding of the focus questions.
  2. Activity

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into pairs and groups.
  2. Ask. How do plants respond to light?
  3. How can we find out?
  4. Listen to suggested procedures and decide on one.
  5. Possible procedure: 
    • Plant several seeds in two different pots. 
    • Set them aside and wait for them to emerge from the soil. 
    • When there are plants coming up in both pots measure the plants and record the starting date below. 
    • Then place one pot in the dark, with the dark cap on, and the other in a lighted area. 
    • Measure the plants and record the data on the chart every other day as possible. Like (M, W, F) for two weeks.
  6. Investigate and record results.

Results:

Date Plant in dark  Plant in light 
  Table will have more rows ...  

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. have class discuss and summarize what they discovered.

Invention

  1. Discuss what the results suggest for other plants?
  2. Conclusions:

Discover

  1. Relate to later investigations.

Activity 6 - Water As An Environmental Factor For Seeds 

Materials

  • Plants, pots, seeds, dropper, and soil.
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

  1. How does water affect the germination of bean seeds?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe what happens when seeds have optimal amounts of water and when they do not.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. How does water affect the germination of bean seeds?
  3. Ask. How might we find out?
  4. Listen to suggested procedures and decide on one.
  5. Possible procedure:
  • Plant the seeds in 4 containers and water each with different amounts of water. 
  • Start the first container with 0 ml and increase each container by ……… ml up to
  • Record your data below.

Results:

Date Seeds with 0 ml Seeds with ___ ml Seeds with ___ ml Seeds with ___ ml
         

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and discuss result.
  2. Ask. How would what you learned apply to seeds outside?  Think spring.  
  3. Conclusions. Describe what happens when seeds have optimal amounts of water and when they do not.

Discover

Consider how water affects interdependence in later activities. If some seeds got moldy reference later when exploring decomposers.

 

Activity 7 - Chemical Fertilizer As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Materials

  • Plants, pots, dropper, soil, fertilizer (liquid or solid), growth location the same for all
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

  1. How does chemical fertilizer effect the growth of plants?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe how plants benefit with an optimal amount of fertilizer.
  2. There are optimal amounts of fertilizer for plants to be healthy

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. How does chemical fertilizer effect the growth of plants?
  3. How can we explore and discover?
  4. Have them create a procedure where they plant seeds, or use plants already growing, and give them different amounts of fertilizer.
  5. Set up, start experiment, and record the results.

Results

Date Plants with _____ Plants with _____ Plants with _____ Plants with _____
         

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

Regroup as a class and groups demonstrate their projects.

Ask. How would what you learned apply to plants outside?   

Conclusions Describe how plants benefit with an optimal amount of fertilizer. Or There are optimal amounts of fertilizer for plants to be healthy

Discover

Related optimal amounts of chemicals in later investigations. Shrimp.

 

Activity 8 - Environmental Factor of Salt for Shrimp

Materials

  • Six small containers, pure water, kosher salt, shrimp eggs, measuring devices
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

What is an optimal amount of a salt in the environment for shrimp?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Shrimp require an optimal amount of salt to hatch.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. How could we discover the optimal amount of salt in the environment for shrimp to grow?
  3. Possible procedure: 
    1. Fill six containers with the same amount of water (40ml)
    2. Put no salt in the first container,
    3. 1 measure of salt in the second,
    4. 2 measures in the third and so forth up to 5 measures. 
    5. Stir the salt until as much as possible dissolves
    6. Add the same amount of eggs to each container. 
    7. Shake or stir the containers everyday.  
    8. Record the results.

Results

Date Shrimp in 0 ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt
             
             

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

Regroup as a class and discuss results.

Ask. What does the data suggest? 

Write the conclusion - Shrimp require an optimal amount of salt to hatch.

Discover

Related optimal amounts of other investigations. Light, temperature, water ...

 

Activity 9 - Temperature as an Environmental Factor for Animals

Materials

  • Hot water in mug ( around 120 degrees) for heat source, ice in mug, aluminum foil tray (about 7cm wide x 40cm long x 3cm high sides) with each end sitting on top of a mug; & 6+ isopods.
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

What temperature do you think isopods prefer?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Isopods prefer an optimal temperature

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. What temperature do you think isopods prefer?
  3. If learners haven't experience isopods before, take some time to observe them.
  4. Ask. How might we explore to find out?
  5. Possible procedure 
    1. Set up your aluminum foil tray so that one end is in the ice chamber and the other is on the heat source
    2. Divide the tray into six sections and record the temperature at each section (after you may wait a few minutes for the temperatures to stabilize). 
    3. Place one isopod in each of the sections
    4. Record that in the table below. 
    5. Every minute record where they for ten minutes.
HOT .....................................................................................................................................COLD
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
10 min            

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and share results.
  2. Ask. Did the animals move in a certain direction?
  3. Did they move randomly?
  4. Did they travel to the ends of the ramp?  Why or why not?
  5. Did they stay in one temperature range?
  6. Describe how they moved.
  7. What advantages do animals have over plants?
  8. If you were looking for one of these animals where would you look?
  9. What was the optimum temperature range indicated by the class data?
  10. Conclusions Isopods prefer an optimal temperature

Discover

Related optimal temperature to later explorations

 

Activity 10 - Light as an Environmental Factor for Animals

Materials

  • Light source, tray of aluminum foil (used for temperature), a black cover to place over the foil tray
  • Lab notes

Focus questions:

How does the environmental factor of light effect animals (isopods)? 

Learning outcomes:

  1. Isopods prefer an optimal amount of light.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. What amount of light do you think isopods prefer?
  3. If learners haven't experience isopods before, take some time to observe them.
  4. Ask. How might we explore to find out?
  5. Possible procedure  
    1. Take a light source that is not hot and set it up at one end of the tray so the first section of the tray is in the light. 
    2. The rest of the sections will be in various shades of darkness down to very dark at the opposite end. 
    3. Take the ____ (isopods) like in the temperature challenge, place one in each section and record where they are each minute for ten minutes.  
    4. Record the results.

Results

LIGHT ..................................................................................................................................... DARK
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
10 min            

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and share results.
  2. Ask. Did the animals move in a certain direction?
  3. Did they move randomly?
  4. Did they travel to the ends of the ramp?  Why or why not?
  5. Did they stay in one brightness range?
  6. Describe how they moved.
  7. What advantages do animals have over plants?
  8. If you were looking for one of these animals where would you look?
  9. What was the optimum light range indicated by the class data?
  10. Conclusions Isopods prefer an optimal amount of light.

Discover

Related optimal light amounts to later explorations

 

Activity 11 - Moisture as an Environmental Factor for Isopods Or Insects 

Materials

  • Tray (from before), dirt, water, and ___ Isopods
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

Is there an optimum range of moisture for isopods?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Isopods have an optimal range of moisture.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. What amount of moisture do you think isopods prefer?
  3. If learners haven't experience isopods before, take some time to observe them.
  4. Ask. How might we explore to find out?
  5. Possible procedure
    1. Use the tray from previous challenges and put 1cm of dirt in the bottom. 
    2. In one of the end sections place no water, totally dry.
    3. The section on the other end should be very wet - like a swamp.
    4. Try 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 if that isn't wet enough add to make it
    5. 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10
    6. Place the ___ (isopods) so that one is in each section and record what section they are in every minute for ten minutes.  

Record results.

No water ..................................................................................................................................... Sloppy wet
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
0 min            

 

  1. Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.
  2. Summarize your results.

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and share their results.
  2. Ask. What does the class data indicate for the optimum range of moisture? 
  3. Where would you expect to find the isopods outside (remember last experiments)? 
  4. Conclusions. Isopods have an optimal range of moisture.

Discover

Related optimal amounts of moisture to later explorations.

 

Activity 12 - Environmental Factors for land snails

Materials

  • Rocks, sheet of plastic, thermometer, and a snail.
  • Prepare 3 rocks for each group with different temperatures by putting 1 rock in the freezer, one in boiling water, and one at room temperature. Rocks should be set no closer than one inch from a snail. If the temperature is optimal for it, it will climb onto it or it will turn away. Forcing snails onto cold or hot rocks will harm the snail. The hot and cold rocks will change temperature so they can be exchanged as they do until optimal temperatures are found
  • To make snails active you may have to place them in cool water for five minutes.
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

What are the optimal environmental factors for snails? (temperature, light, moisture)

Learning outcomes:

  1. Describe optimal environmental factors for snails.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.
  2. Ask. How might we discover an optimum temperature range for snails?
  3. Suggested procedure: 
    1. Place the snail on a sheet of plastic, take the temperature of a rock, and place it in front of a snail and see if the snail will climb the rock. 
    2. If the snail climbs on the rock record the temperature of the rock as climbed on and if the snail didn’t climb on the rock record the temperature as didn't climb. Set the rock aside an wait for it to change temperature and try it again at the different temperature.
    3. Repeat with the other rocks and record results. 
    4. Remember to take the temperature of the rock often as it will change. 
    5. If the snail won’t go onto the rock, try another and then come back and try the rock again when its temperature changes.

Results:

  1. What temperature were the rocks the snails did climb?
  2. What temperature were the rocks that the snails didn’t climb?

Invention

  1. hare the class data
  2. Does the class data indicate an optimum temperature?
  3. Did the snails show evidence of variation?
  4. Conclusions:

 Exploration - Snails and the optimum amount of light

  1. Question:  What amount of light do snails choose?
  2. Equipment:  Light source, polar overlay, marker, and a snail.
  3. Possible procedure: 
    1. Take the light source and set it up so that the overlay will have the light at the zero point. 
    2. Darken the rest of the room and check the overlay to see if there are different amounts of light on the overlay with the most being at zero. 
    3. Then take the snail and place it at (0,0). 
    4. Follow the trail of the snail with the marker. 
    5. If the snail moves off the overlay then put it back at the center and start over again. 
    6. Continue for 10 minutes.
  4. When all the teams are finished we will put all the overlays on the overhead projector so they are all facing the same way relative to ……………………… 
  5. Record the results.
  6. Does the data indicate an optimum range of light?
  7. Was there evidence of variation? 
  8. Explain
  9. Conclusions:

 

Snails and the optimum amount of moisture 

  1. Question:  What amount of moisture do snails choose?
  2. Equipment:  Polar overlay, a snail, 
  3. Possible procedure:  
  4.  
  5. Record the results.
  6. Results:
  7. Does the data indicate an optimum range of moisture?
  8. Was there evidence of variation? 
  9. Explain
  10. Conclusions:

Invention

  1. Regroup as a class and review all three factors and discuss how the different combinations of light, water, and temperature might or might not be optimal in real environments.
  2. What would happen as each changes in different ways?

Discover

Related optimal amounts of environmental conditions to the health of different organisms.

 

Activity 13 - Environment summary 

Materials

Focus questions:

What have you learned about the environment from the start of our study?

Learning outcomes:

  1. Review vocabulary from day one and some of the activities in the project and beyond.

Exploration

  1. Organize learners into groups and pairs.

Materials

  • Lab notes

Challenge

1.  What is a plant?

2.  What is an animal?

3.  What is a predator?

4.  What is the prey?

5.  What is population?

6.  What is an organism?

7.  What is a barrier?

8.  What is dispersal?

9.  What is a plant eater?

10.  What is an animal eater?

11.-15.  List 5 biotic objects.

16.-20.  List 5 abiotic objects.

21.-25.  List 5 environmental factors.

26.-30.  Pick anyone of the experiments we did in this packet and tell what the experiment was, how it was done, and what the results were.  Hint: you will need more than three sentences to answer this!

Invention

Regroup as a class and share answers.

Discover

Relate their experiences when they think about the environment.

 

Activity 14 - Environmental slogan for a Tee shirt, banner, or flag

Materials

  • Tee shirt, banner, or flag, ....
  • Lab notes -

Focus questions:

 

Learning outcomes:

  1. Design an environmental themed Slogan for a Tee shirt, flag, or banner

Exploration

  1. Organize learners.
  2. Challenge learners to find or write a slogan or quote you wold use on a Tee shirt, banner, flag, side walk, or billboard.

     

    Environmental quotes ... that might inspire you ...

    1. Caring for the Earth is not a hippie thing, it’s a survival thing.
    2. It’s easier to call vegans crazy than it is to question your morality.
    3. You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them. Wangari Maathai
    4. Every time you buy organic you are persuading more farmers to grow organic.
    5. Earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry Until we don’t!
    6. What good is an economy if we don’t have an environment that sustains us!
    7. To damage the earth is to damage your children. Wendell Berry
    8. First question is, As individuals what can we do? The answer is: practically nothing! What could be done and always has been done in history is by people who are organized. The labor movement, civil rights movement, women’s movement, anti-war movement, environmental movement. These can do things. And that’s one of the reasons why powerful systems are so intent on atomizing people. Noam Chomsky
    9. We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet. Stephen Hawking
    10. Good planets are hard to find.

Invention

Create Tee shirt, banner, or flag, .... with an environmental theme or slogan.

Discover

Relate their experiences when they think about the environment.

 

 

Lab Notes for activities

Lab notes 1 - What do you know about life?

Materials

  • Lab notes

Directions

Here are some words for you to review. 

Give an example and write a definition for each word.

 

Plant

 

Animal

 

Predator

 

Prey

 

Population

 

Organism

 

Barrier

 

Dispersal

 

Plant eaters

 

Animal eaters

 

Bean

 

Lab notes 2 - Healthy Beans 

Materials

  • beans, water, containers, light source, temperature control, soil or other substance

Challenge

List variables that might cause plants to grow better.

 

 

Create and write a plan to grow a healthy bean that would make a farmer proud.

 

What could be recorded every day as a measure of a bean plant's health?

Describe how it can be recorded in the table below.

 

Date Data Other
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

Is there a way to graph the data? If there is graph it.

 

How do beans fit within a living community?

 

Lab notes 3 - What's the temperature?

Materials

  • thermometer
  • Lab notes

What's That Temperature?

Place Date:  Time: 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

What is the outdoor temperature today? 

 

Record the temperature for several different places.

Suggestions:

  • On a hard surface, rock, cement, blacktop.
  • In a grassy place on the ground.
  • In a grassy place below the ground, tell how far below. 
  • In a grassy place at the top of the grass. 
  • In a wooded area on the ground.
  • In a wooded area below the ground, tell how far below.
  • In a wooded area 1 m above the ground.
  • If there is a pond around what is the temperature of the surface.
  • What is the temperature below the surface of the water, and how far below?

 

What did you discover?


 

 

 


Lab notes 4 - Environmental Factors that Effect Bean Plants 

Materials

  • Lab notes

Focus questions:

  • What environmental factors effect bean plants and other living things in a community?

Challenge

What’s an Environmental factor?

Make a list of environmental factors you think might effect your bean plant's growth.

 

 

 

  

Environmental factors may be divided into two groups: biotic and abiotic.  

  • Something is biotic if it is living or came from a living organism.  
  • Something is abiotic if it was never living or isn’t from a living organism.  

 

Select from the environmental factors in your list and write them in the appropriate column below.

Biotic Abiotic

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

How do you know something is a biotic or abiotic?

 

What makes it confusing?

 

How do abiotic and biotic objects affect the interdependence of communities?

 

Lab notes 5 - Light as an Environmental Factor

Materials

  • Lab notes

Challenge

Light As An Environmental Factor - Experiment 

Question:  How will ………….. plants respond to light?

Equipment:  Seeds, pots, soil, and a black cap.

Procedure: 

  • Plant several seeds in two different pots. 
  • Set them aside and wait for them to emerge from the soil. 
  • When there are plants coming up in both pots measure the plants and record the starting date below. 
  • Then place one pot in the dark, with the dark cap on, and the other in a lighted area. 
  • Measure the plants and record the data on the chart every other day as possible. Like (M, W, F) for two weeks.

Results:

Date Plant in dark  Plant in light 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Summarize what you discovered.

 

What do these results suggest for other plants?

 

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 6 - Water as an Environmental Factor for Seeds

Materials

  • Plants, pots, seeds, dropper, and soil.
  • Lab notes

Challenge

How does water affect the germination of………….. seeds?

 

Possible procedure: 

  • Plant the seeds in 4 containers and water each with different amounts of water. 
  • Start the first container with 0 ml and increase each container by ……… ml up to ……..
  • Record your data below.

 

Results:

Date Seeds with 0 ml Seeds with ___ ml Seeds with ___ ml Seeds with ___ ml
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Summarize your results.

 

How would what you learned apply to seeds outside?  Think spring.  

 

Conclusions:


 

 

Lab notes 7 - Chemical Fertilizer as an Environmental Factor

Materials

  • Plants, pots, dropper, soil, fertilizer (liquid or solid), growth location the same for all
  • Lab notes

Challenge

How does chemical fertilizer effect the growth of plants?

Procedure

 

 

 

 

Results

Date Plants with _____ Plants with _____ Plants with _____ Plants with _____
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         
         

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Summarize your results.

 

 

How would what you learned apply to seeds outside?    

 

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 8 - Environmental Factor of Salt for Shrimp

Materials

  • Six small containers, pure water, kosher salt, shrimp eggs, measuring devices
  • Lab notes

Challenge

Discover an optimal amount of a salt in the environment for shrimp?

Possible procedure: 

  1. Fill six containers with the same amount of water (40ml)
  2. Put no salt in the first container,
  3. 1 measure of salt in the second,
  4. 2 measures in the third and so forth up to 5 measures. 
  5. Stir the salt until as much as possible dissolves
  6. Add the same amount of eggs to each container. 
  7. Shake or stir the containers everyday.  
  8. Record the results.

Results

Date Shrimp in 0 ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt Shrimp in __ ml salt
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             
             

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Conclusions

Lab notes 9 - Temperature as an Environmental Factor for Animals

Materials

  • Hot water in mug ( around 120 degrees) for heat source, ice in mug, aluminum foil tray (about 7cm wide x 40cm long x 3cm high sides) with each end sitting on top of a mug; & 6+ isopods.

Challenge

Discover an optimum temperature for isopods?

Possible procedure 

  1. Set up your aluminum foil tray so that one end is in the ice chamber and the other is on the heat source
  2. Divide the tray into six sections and record the temperature at each section (after you may wait a few minutes for the temperatures to stabilize). 
  3. Place one isopod in each of the sections
  4. Record that in the table below. 
  5. Every minute record where they for ten minutes.

 

HOT .....................................................................................................................................COLD
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
10 min            

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Conclusions

Did the animals move in a certain direction?

Did they move randomly?

Did they travel to the ends of the ramp?  Why or why not?

Did they stay in one temperature range?

Describe how they moved.

What advantages do animals have over plants?

If you were looking for one of these animals where would you look?

What was the optimum temperature range indicated by the class data?

 

 

Lab notes 10 - Light as an Environmental Factor for Animals

Materials

  • Light source, tray of aluminum foil (used for temperature), a black cover to place over the foil tray

Challenge

How does the environmental factor light effect ____ (isopods)? 

Possible procedure: 

  1. Take a light source that is not hot and set it up at one end of the tray so the first section of the tray is in the light. 
  2. The rest of the sections will be in various shades of darkness down to very dark at the opposite end. 
  3. Take the ____ (isopods) like in the temperature challenge, place one in each section and record where they are each minute for ten minutes.  
  4. Record the results.

Results

LIGHT ..................................................................................................................................... DARK
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
0 min            

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

 

Summary of results

Does the class data indicate an optimum range of light?

If so what is it?

If you were going to look for ___ (isopods) outside where would you look (include what you learned from the last experiment about temperature)?

Conclusions

 

 

Lab notes 11 - Moisture as an Environmental Factor for Isopods Or Insects 

Materials

  • Tray (from before), dirt, water, and ___ Isopods

Challenge

Is there an optimum range of moisture for ___ isopods?

Possible procedure: 

  1. Use the tray from previous challenges and put 1cm of dirt in the bottom. 
  2. In one of the end sections place no water, totally dry.
  3. The section on the other end should be very wet - like a swamp.
  4. Try 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 if that isn't wet enough add to make it
  5. 0, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10
  6. Place the ___ (isopods) so that one is in each section and record what section they are in every minute for ten minutes.  

Record results.

No water ..................................................................................................................................... Sloppy wet
  Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
1 min            
2 min            
3 min            
4 min            
5 min            
6 min            
7 min            
8 min            
9 min            
0 min            

 

Graph class results on a class graph using sticky dots.

Summarize results

 

 

What does the class data indicate for the optimum range of moisture?  Where would you expect to find the ………. Outside (remember last experiments)?  

Conclusions

 

Lab notes 12 - Environmental Factors for Snails

Materials

  • Rocks, sheet of plastic, thermometer, and a snail.
  • To make snails active you may have to place them in cool water for five minutes.

Challenge

Discover an optimum temperature for snails?

Procedure: 

  1. Place the snail on a sheet of plastic and place one rock in front of the snail and see if the snail will climb the rock. 
  2. If the snail climbs on the rock record the temperature of the rock in that column and if the snail didn’t climb on the rock record the temperature in that column. 
  3. Repeat with the other rocks and record below. 
  4. Remember to take the temperature of the rock often as it will change. 
  5. If the snail won’t go onto the rock, try another and then come back and try the rock again when its temperature changes.

Results:

What temperature were the rocks the snails did climb?

 

 

What temperature were the rocks that the snails didn’t climb?

 

Share the class data

Does the class data indicate an optimum temperature?

 

 

Did the snails show evidence of variation?

 

Conclusions:

 

Snails and the optimum amount of light

Question:  What amount of light do snails choose?

Equipment:  Light source, polar overlay, marker, and a snail.

Procedure:  Take the light source and set it up so that the overlay will have the light at the zero point.  Darken the rest of the room and check the overlay to see if there are different amounts of light on the overlay with the most being at zero.  Then take the snail and place it at (0,0).  Follow the trail of the snail with the marker.  If the snail moves off the overlay then put it back at the center and start over again.  Continue for 10 minutes.

When all the teams are finished we will put all the overlays on the overhead projector so they are all facing the same way relative to ……………………… 

Record the results.

Results:

Does the data indicate an optimum range of light?

Was there evidence of variation?  Explain

Conclusions:

 

Snails and the optimum amount of moisture 

Question:  What amount of moisture do snails choose?

Equipment:  Polar overlay, a snail, 

Procedure:  

 

 

Record the results.

Results:

Does the data indicate an optimum range of moisture?

Was there evidence of variation?  Explain

Conclusions:

 

Lab notes 13 - Environment summary 

Materials

  • Lab notes

Challenge - complete the following.

1.  What is a plant?

 

2.  What is an animal?

 

3.  What is a predator?

 

4.  What is the prey?

 

5.  What is population?

 

6.  What is an organism?

 

7.  What is a barrier?

 

8.  What is dispersal?

 

9.  What is a plant eater?

 

10.  What is an animal eater?

 

11.-15.  List 5 biotic objects.

 

 

16.-20.  List 5 abiotic objects.

 

 

21.-25.  List 5 environmental factors.

 

 

26.-30.  Pick anyone of the experiments we did in this packet and tell what the experiment was, how it was done, and what the results were.  Hint: you will need more than three sentences to answer this!

 

Lab notes 14 - Environmental quotes  for a Tee shirt

Good Planets are hard to find tee shirt logo

Materials

  • Lab notes, Tee shirt, ....

Challenge - find or write a slogan or quote you wold use on a Tee shirt, banner, flag, side walk, or billboard.

 

Environmental quotes ... that might inspire you ...

  1. Caring for the Earth is not a hippie thing, it’s a survival thing.
  2. It’s easier to call vegans crazy than it is to question your morality.
  3. You cannot protect the environment unless you empower people, you inform them, and you help them understand that these resources are their own, that they must protect them. Wangari Maathai
  4. Every time you buy organic you are persuading more farmers to grow organic.
  5. Earth is what we all have in common. Wendell Berry Until we don’t!
  6. What good is an economy if we don’t have an environment that sustains us!
  7. To damage the earth is to damage your children. Wendell Berry
  8. First question is, As individuals what can we do? The answer is: practically nothing! What could be done and always has been done in history is by people who are organized. The labor movement, civil rights movement, women’s movement, anti-war movement, environmental movement. These can do things. And that’s one of the reasons why powerful systems are so intent on atomizing people. Noam Chomsky
  9. We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet. Stephen Hawking
  10. Good planets are hard to find.

 

Describe your plan.

 

Material Sheets

A

 

 

 

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