Concept map

***Note*** All numbers in the yellow squares refer to relevant Massachusetts Middle School Science Technology & Engineering Physical Science (MA STE MS-PS) frameworks, unless otherwise stated. For more detail, refer to the STE Frameworks document on the Resources page.

Unit Overview

During the ecosystems unit students will continue to study life science. Students will begin by studying populations, and the factors that impact their survival. Students will create and monitor crickets for several weeks in order to investigate self-written research questions regarding their survival and health. Students will then investigate how different populations interact within various ecosystems to exchange energy, and how scientists monitor and track these varied interactions. The importance of biodiversity and social behavior will also be considered in light of the impacts from and for humans. Throughout this unit, students will continue to gain proficiency with the Claims, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) framework for scientific argumentation. There will be special focus on scientific data collection, organization, and graphing through class activities and laboratory investigations. According to NGSS: In the ecosystems unit, students will begin to formulate an answer to the question, “How does a system of living and non-living things operate to meet the needs of the organisms in an ecosystem?” Throughout this unit, students will analyze and interpret data, develop models, and construct arguments and demonstrate a deeper understanding of resources and the cycling of matter and the flow of energy in ecosystems. They will also study patterns of the interactions among organisms within an ecosystem. They consider biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem and the effects these factors have on population. They evaluate competing design solutions for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Unit 4 Essential Questions

• How and why do organisms interact with their environment, and what are the effects of these interactions?
• How does a system of living and non-living things operate to meet the needs of the organisms in the ecosystem?
• Is it better or worse in the long run for resources to not always be abundant?
• Is it better or worse for an ecosystems's top predator to be removed?
• Would human designed ecosystems be better than natural ones?
• What are the most important inputs and outputs for matter cycling in an ecosystem?
• To what degree do human interventions disrupt ecosystems?

Lesson Descriptions

Lesson 4.1- Organizing an ecosystem

Student groups will research different ecosystems and complete a hierarchy diagram displaying predator-prey relationships within that ecosystem.

Lesson 4.2- Oh deer!

Students will model a deer population and investigate what happens when various factors limit their survival.

Lesson 4.3- Jack rabbits and coyotes

Students will learn about the concept of carrying capacity by comparing data sets of predator and prey population numbers.

Lesson 4.4- Symbiosis

Students will learn about mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism and explain how each symbiotic relationship impacts involved organisms.

Lesson 4.5-Practicing energy flow in ecosystems

Using "web of life" cards which display the feeding habits of numerous plants and animals in a variety of Grand Canyon ecosystems, students will create food webs and model the impact of a variety of environmental impacts on the food webs.

Lesson 4.6-Energy stored in food

Students will carry out a calorimetry experiment, where they determine the energy content of a cheese puff, and then use engineering design principles to optimize how well their calorimeter works. This will help students model how organisms in an ecosystem obtain energy from food.

Lesson 4.7-Mass and energy flow in ecosystems

Students will investigate the processes that food energy fuel, and how much of the energy is available to predators at different trophic levels.

Lesson 4.8-Models of energy flow in ecosystems

Students will design and understand energy pyramids, and relate these visuals to other symbolic models (such as food chains) as a means of understanding the energetics of predator/prey interactions.

Lesson 4.9-Food chain energy bar charts

Students will study the flow of energy through a food chain, and model this transfer across trophic levels with energy bar graphs.

Lesson 4.10- Role of decomposers in recycling matter

Students will view a video and answer questions about the role that decomposers play in a food web. They will then build a small scale composter and examine which variables could change how well composting occurs.

Lesson 4.11-The nitrogen cycle

Students will follow the simulated path of a nitrogen atom as it travels through the atmosphere, plant matter, animal matter, and other places.

Unit Project-Organizing an ecosystem

Students will make a poster detailing the hierarchical organization of an interesting ecosystem by drawing and communicating information about a unique organism, which is part of a population, which is part of a community, of which many comprise the ecosystem.