Name: _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Period: _____________________
Measuring an Ecosystem
Materials: hula hoop, colored pencils, large field
Procedure:
Prediction: Which type of organism (producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer. . .) will be the most numerous?
Data: (drawing on back)
Organism
Number Seen
Analysis:
3. Biomass is the weight of the living organisms in an area. Which has more biomass in your site, producers or consumers?
4. Did the organisms with the most biomass also have the greatest number of organisms?
5. How do different amounts of biomass of producers and consumers correlate with the energy levels they occupy on the energy pyramid?
6. How does the amount of energy available from producers in your hula hoop compare to consumers?
7. Arrange the organisms you discovered in your hula hoop into a food web according to energy flow. Include at least 2 food chains in your web. Draw your food web on a separate piece of paper and staple it to this WS.
8. What role does the sun play in your hula hoop ecosystem?
9. Why is energy a one way flow?
Measuring an Ecosystem
Materials: hula hoop, colored pencils, large field
Procedure:
- Take your hula hoop outside. With your eyes shut, randomly choose your sample area by throwing the hula hoop behind you. Wherever it lands is your sample area.
- Record all of the living organisms in your sample area. You may include organisms that fly above your hula hoop. You can also dig to find organisms underground. Draw a picture of what it looks like inside your hoop.
Prediction: Which type of organism (producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer. . .) will be the most numerous?
Data: (drawing on back)
Organism
Number Seen
Analysis:
- Why was it important to randomly pick your site?
- Which organism was the most numerous on your plot?
3. Biomass is the weight of the living organisms in an area. Which has more biomass in your site, producers or consumers?
4. Did the organisms with the most biomass also have the greatest number of organisms?
5. How do different amounts of biomass of producers and consumers correlate with the energy levels they occupy on the energy pyramid?
6. How does the amount of energy available from producers in your hula hoop compare to consumers?
7. Arrange the organisms you discovered in your hula hoop into a food web according to energy flow. Include at least 2 food chains in your web. Draw your food web on a separate piece of paper and staple it to this WS.
8. What role does the sun play in your hula hoop ecosystem?
9. Why is energy a one way flow?
- Does the grass in your sight use more energy making sugar (photosynthesis) than it actually gains from consuming that sugar?