Investigation Question:  What makes organisms in a population more likely to survive or less likely to survive?

Key Concepts:

1. When it’s easy for organisms to meet their needs in their environment, they are likely to survive. 

2. When it’s hard for organisms to meet their needs in their environment, they are not likely to survive. 

Chapter Overview: 

Students assume the role of biomimicry engineers and are introduced to the population of grove snails they will study to inspire biomimicry design ideas. The lead engineer at the engineering firm solicits students’ help explaining why the snails with yellow shells in the population aren’t surviving well, and students begin investigating what makes organisms likely or not likely to survive. The purpose of this chapter is for students to understand that organisms’ likelihood of survival depends on how easy or hard it is for them to meet their needs in a given environment. 

Investigation Question 1:  Why are some organisms in a population more likely to survive than others in an environment?

Investigation Question 2:  How can an organisms traits help engineers make successful designs?

Key Concepts:

1. Organisms in a population can have different traits.  

2. An organism’s traits can make it easier or harder for the organism to meet its needs in its environment.   

3. In a population, organisms with adaptive traits are more likely to survive in their environment. 

4. In a population, organisms with non-adaptive traits are less likely to survive in their environment.  

5. Organisms’ traits can inspire engineers to create designs that solve problems.

Chapter Overview:

In Chapter 2, students investigate why the snails with banded shells are more likely to survive than the snails with yellow shells. To begin making sense of this question, students explore examples of trait variation and then use a physical model of variation in traits for hummingbird beak structure to investigate how different traits can make it easier or harder for organisms to meet their needs for survival. The purpose of this chapter is for students to construct the idea that, in a population, organisms with adaptive traits are more likely to survive, whereas organisms with non-adaptive traits are less likely to survive. 

Investigation Question:  How can organisms have traits that are adaptive at one time, but non-adaptive at another time?

Key Concepts:

1. When an environment changes, traits that were adaptive might now be non-adaptive. 

2. When the environment changes, that doesn’t mean that organisms can decide to change their traits to survive. 

Chapter Overview:

In Chapter 3, students investigate why the snails with yellow shells were more likely to survive in their environment in the past. They return to a new version of the model they have used in previous chapters and collect data that reveal how an environmental change can affect which traits are adaptive in a population. Students observe examples of environmental changes and discuss their ideas about how different traits might be adaptive before and after each environmental change. After analyzing new data about how the grove snail population’s environment has changed over time, students independently write scientific explanations that explain why the trait for yellow shell color was more adaptive in the study area environment 10 years ago, before the environment changed. 

Investigation Question:  How do engineers use what they learn, plan, make, and test their designs?

Key Concepts:

1. N/A

Chapter Overview:

In this chapter, students take on a new design challenge in their role as biomimicry engineers. Students apply what they’ve learned about structure and function in traits as they design a robot that can remove and grind up invasive plants, drawing their ideas from the giraffe traits for neck and tooth structures. The purpose of this chapter is to offer students the opportunity to engage in authentic practices of engineering and apply their understanding of science concepts learned throughout the unit.