| ENVIRONMENTS
MODULE MATRIX |
 |
SYNOPSIS |
SCIENCE
CONTENT |
THINKING
PROCESSES |
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1. |
TERRESTRIAL
ENVIRONMENTS
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|
Students
set up terrariums, observe them for 2 weeks, and describe the
environmental factors that contribute to the terrarium environment. |
•
Everything that surrounds an organism makes up the organism’s
environment.
• Terrestrial environments include both living and nonliving
factors. |
•
Observe and describe changes in a terrarium over time.
• Organize and communicate observations. |
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2. |
BUGS
AND BEETLES |
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Students
construct a runway to investigate how isopods and darkling beetles
respond to environmental factors such as water and light, and
determine the environmental preferences. |
•
Each organism has a set of preferred environmental conditions.
• Isopods prefer moist, dark environments; beetles prefer
dry, dark environments. |
•
Set up and observe animal investigations.
• Organize data and communicate results of investigations.
• Relate the behavior of an animal to environmental factors. |
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3. |
WATER
TOLERANCE |
|
Students
set up and monitor an experiment to determine the range of water
tolerance for early growth of four kinds of plants: corn, pea,
barley, and radish. |
•
Organisms have ranges of tolerance for environmental factors.
• Optimum conditions are those most favorable to an organism’s
survival, growth, and reproduction. |
•
Conduct a plant experiment to determine range of tolerance.
• Organize data and communicate results.
• Relate differences in growth to the factor of water. |
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4. |
AQUATIC
ENVIRONMENTS |
|
Students
set up freshwater aquariums with fish and plants. They monitor
the environmental factors in the systems, testing the acidity
of the water using a chemical indicator. |
• Aquatic environments include living and nonliving factors.
• Carbon dioxide produced by aquatic organisms changes the acidity of the water.
• The chain of feeding relationships between
a series of organisms is called a food chain.
|
• Observe and describe changes in an aquarium over time.
• Use a chemical indicator to indirectly measure an environmental factor.
• Relate differences in acid content to changes in carbon dioxide. |
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5. |
BRINE
SHRIMP HATCHING |
|
Students
conduct a controlled experiment to determine which of four salt
concentrations allow brine shrimp eggs to hatch. They determine
range of tolerance and optimum conditions. |
•
Brine shrimp eggs can hatch in a range of salt concentrations
but hatch best under certain optimum salt conditions. |
•
Experiment to determine the range of tolerance to salinity for
brine shrimp eggs.
• Organize data and compare results.
• Relate the hatching of eggs to the factor of salinity. |
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6. |
SALT
OF THE EARTH |
|
Students
set up a controlled experiment to test the effect of salinity
on four kinds of plants. They monitor growth of the seeds into
plants and determine the plants’ tolerance for salt. |
•
Organisms have ranges of tolerance for environmental factors.
• Plants have different tolerances for salt.
• In a controlled experiment, one variable is manipulated
while all others are kept the same. |
•
Conduct a plant experiment to determine range of tolerance for
salt.
• Organize data and describe results.
• Compare data from different kinds of plants.
• Relate the difference in growth to the factor of salinity. |
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