Check this out next time you are bored...Purposegames.com

http://www.purposegames.com/games?c=14&so=mp

I just "discovered" this site. It is chock full of scientific games that cover what we have studied this year and other topics you might be interested in. 10 points extra credit if you:

- Find and play a science game on Purpose games that is about something we have learned about and submit a written review of it.

If you register, you can create your own games and hold tournaments but please be careful and make sure you have your parents' permission before doing so. So far it is a safe site, but you can never be too cautious. Have fun!!!

Ecosystem project for Period 4B and 5B

Project #1 for this nine weeks: Build and bring in a 3-D model of an ecosystem energy pyramid/food web. It needs to have labeled examples of producers, consumers, and decomposers arranged in their appropriate trophic levels. It also needs to show and describe the flow of energy through the pyramid.

Rubric:
- Total points- points

10 points- Project is in 3-D

10 points- Project focuses on only one ecosystem (choices include forest, desert, freshwater, open ocean, jungle/rain forest, estuary/Everglades, savannah)

30 points- Project includes and labels the following:
- at least 3 producers/autotrophs
- 4-5 examples of herbivores
- 2-3 tertiary or secondary carnivores
- 1 apex/top predator
- 2 examples of decomposers

20 points- Project shows how energy flows through the ecosystem and explains whether energy increases or decreases at each trophic level

10 points- Project explains how abiotic and biotic factors in that particular ecosystem interact and affect one another.

Total: 80 points (10 point bonus if you do a coral reef, late Jurassic, late Cretaceous, or Ice Age ecosystem)

The due date is set for May 21. No extensions or revisions will be made. Consideration will be given for unavoidable absences but you have the better part of 3 weeks to complete this assignment. This is an individual assignment, no teams. I want to see what each person can do with the information we are learning. Helpful references and sites will be forthcoming.

Homework for 4B/5B

1. Finish/complete the History of Whales Timeline

2. Research the chambered nautilus and record what type of environment it lives in and how its eyes have adapted for it to survive.

More links

For 2A, 3A, and 6B:

Here are some links to the carbon and nitrogen cycles. I will be going over these in class so it would be good to study them at home.

http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/tdc02_img_ccycle/


http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/lsps07_int_nitrogen/

Here's a link to the different relationships that inhabit a reef colony.

I will be displaying this during the next full class we have.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/survival/coral/index.html

Another pyramid idea

1) Get a styrofoam cone.

2) Mark off the different trophic levels on the cone and label them accurately and accordingly.

Follow the rest of the steps that are in the previous post.

How to make the energy pyramid (just one idea I had)

Periods, 2A, 3A, and 6B:

In conferencing with many of you, I have seen that you are already researching the information to create your pyramid, but are confused as to how to make it 3D. I am going to give you a couple of ideas on how you can own this particular piece.

1)Get about 4 or more styrofoam shapes (disks, blocks, or spheres)of decreasing (small to large) size.

2) Stack the shapes with the largest on the bottom and with each size getting smaller as you reach the top.

3) Label each different shape accordingly (i.e. which trophic level it is?).

4) You can use actual models or pictures for your organisms. Make sure they are at the appropraite trophic level.

5) Remember to have a printed explanation of how the sun's energy flows through the trophic levels of your chosen ecosystem.

6) Be creative! Decorate your pyramid to reflect the ecosystem you have chosen.