UNIT 5: Interdependence of Life Guide

Unit Vocabulary:

Word Parts/meaning of word, if any

Definition Picture example if any

Adaptation

Homeostasis

Stimulus

Response

Ecology

Ecosystem

Population

Community

Abiotic Factor

Biotic Factor

Habitat

Carrying Capacity

Exponential Growth

Overpopulation

Biome

Trophic level

Food chain

Consumer

Producer

Carnivore

Herbivore

Decomposer

Scavenger

Food Web

Competition

Predator

Prey

Symbiosis

Commensalism

Parasitism

Mutualism

Lesson 1: Organisms’ Basic Needs (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 1 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts What do organisms need to be able to do in

order to survive both as an individual and as a species?

What basic things do all organisms need in order to meet these three challenges of life?

The three challenges of life are:

1. ______________________________

2. ______________________________

3. ______________________________

The 4 Basic Needs of all Organisms are:

1. WaterReason Why Essential: __________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

2. Air (Oxygen or Carbon Dioxide)Reason Why Essential: __________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

3. FoodReason Why Essential: __________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

4. Right Environment (Space, Shelter, Temperature)Reason Why Essential: ___________________________________________

___________________________________________

___________________________________________

Lesson 2: Responses to Environment (Aligned with Unit 5 Lessons 2 and 3 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts What are some ways that mammals such as

humans maintain homeostasis within our bodies?

What are some ways that reptiles maintain homeostasis within their bodies?

What are some ways that plants maintain homeostasis?

Why is it important for organisms to maintain homeostasis?

What is the difference between a stimulus and a response?

How do we stay warm when it’s cold outside?_________________________________________

_________________________________________

How do we stay cool when it’s hot outside?_________________________________________

What happens to our breathing rate and heart rate when we exercise?_________________________________________

How do reptiles regulate their body temperature?_________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

How do plants regulate their internal temperature?The tiny pores on the surface of leaves, called stomata, open during the day to allow CO2 into the leaf and water to evaporate, cooling the plant off just like sweat cools people off. Even _______ (small/large) variations in body temperature can have serious consequences, destroying important chemicals within the body and preventing life processes from occurring.

Complete the following table to distinguish between a stimulus and a response.

Stimulus ResponseA swarm of bees flying toward you

You begin to sweat

A bear runs toward you

You begin to shiver

You begin to feel thirsty

What would happen if you were not able to respond to a stimulus? If an organism cannot respond to a changing

environment then it will not be able to meet the _____________ of life. It will be in danger of dying, or becoming extinct.

Complete the following table to illustrate what may happen if you cannot respond to the stimuli listed below.

Stimulus Result of failure to respond

A swarm of angry bees flies toward you

A bear runs toward you

You get very cold

You get very hot

You begin to get dehydrated

Lesson 3: Populations within an Ecosystem (Aligned with Unit 5 Lessons 4 and 5 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts

How would a population act (grow) over time if there were nothing to stop its growth?

Does exponential growth happen frequently in nature?

What happens if a population exceeds (increases above) the carrying capacity of the land where it lives?

The growth of an unchecked population (nothing limits its growth) would be ________________, which takes the shape of a J curve.

The size of a population is limited by the amount of space, food, nesting places, light and mates. The maximum size of a population that a particular environment can support is called the _____________________________.

Write the vocab term which describes what has been reached where the arrow is pointing to on the graph below.

When the carrying capacity of an area has been exceeded, _______________ is said to occur. The land can no longer support the amount of population existing on it and organisms begin to _____ or are forced to move to another area.

Does the carrying capacity of an area stay the same all of the time?

What are the major Biomes of the World?

In nature, conditions within an environment can change frequently, causing the carrying capacity to change, too.

Three examples of changing conditions in an environment that would cause the carrying capacity to change are:

1. _____________________________________

2. _____________________________________

3. _____________________________________

_____________ Biomes:1. Chaparral2. Coniferous Forest3. Desert4. Savanna5. Temperate Deciduous Forest6. Temperate Grassland7. Tropical Forest8. Tundra

Categorized by ____________ and amount of ________________.

______________ Biomes:1. Estuaries2. Lakes3. Rivers4. Intertidal Zones5. Coral Reefs6. Oceans7. Abyssal Zones

Categorized by ______________ and _____________ of the water.

Lesson 4 and 5: Energy Flow within An Ecosystem (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 6 - 9 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts

What is the trophic level of each organism in the food chain above?

How is the flow of energy through an ecosystem a cycle?

Label the organisms below in the food chain as a Consumer or Producer (C or P). Also label as a Herbivore, Carnivore or Scavenger (H, C or S).

Label the trophic level of each organism on the lines below.

NOTE: Each trophic level only gets about 10% of the energy from the level before it. So, if a mouse eats the grass, it is only getting about 10% of the grass’s energy. When a snake eats the mouse it only gets about 10% of the MOUSE’S energy and so on.

WE LOSE 90% OF THE ENERGY AT EACH TROPHIC LEVEL.

All original energy to an ecosystem comes from the _____.

During photosynthesis, the light energy is stored in the chemical energy of glucose. ____________ can use this energy for their activities and to build their bodies.

When a _____________ eats the producer, the energy stored in the plant body is passed on to the herbivore, and then to other consumers.

Which is the Producer in this food chain?

Consumer?

Herbivore?

Carnivore?

Scavenger?

Eventually ______________ such as bacteria break own the organic material from dead organisms and recycle those nutrients back to the ecosystem for plants to use.

Video Resource to Review Carbon Cycle:http://mrhardy.wikispaces.com/Carbon+Cycle.swf

Lesson 6: Food Chains (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 9 in OLS)

DAILY ACTIVITY: WEB ACTIVITY - http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/

OBJECTIVES:

Students will apply concepts learned in last class:

Students will interpret a food chain diagram

Students will apply the terms "producer", "consumer", "decomposer", "scavenger", "herbivore", and "carnivore" to a food chain diagram.

Students will explain how changes to one organism within a food chain can affect others within the food chain

Lesson 7: Food Webs (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 10 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts What is the difference between a FOOD

CHAIN and a FOOD WEB?

How do we interpret a food web diagram?1. What are three things that eat the

oak tree in the food web below?2. What eats the Squirrel in the food

web below?

What would happen to the ecosystem in the food web shown above if the songbirds suddenly became extinct?

A food web is all of the _______________ food chains within an ecosystem.

1. Three things that eat the oak tree are:1. _________________2. _________________3. _________________

2. The __________________ eats Squirrels.

If the population of one species within a food web is changed, it affects _____ other parts of the food web.

If the songbird population in the above food web died: The fox population would ____________

(increase/decrease) due to lack of food. The caterpillar population would __________

(increase/decrease) since the songbirds are not

How are all food webs connected together?

eating them. The mountain lion population would be

affected, as well, because _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

All organisms in an ecosystem interact with one another, forming a web within that ecosystem.

Organisms within a single ecosystem are not the only organisms that interact, though. Some populations interact with organisms in other ____________. All ecosystems are interconnected, forming a ________ food web throughout the whole world.

Lesson 8: Competition (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 12 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts Why do organisms compete?

Who does competition happen between?

Is competition good, or bad?

Competition is rivalry between individuals for a particular resource such as:1. _____________2. _____________3. _____________4. _____________

Remember – if organisms do not obtain resources to meet their basic needs, they cannot meet the 3 challenges of life:

1. Acquire/Use Energy2. Reproduction3. Maintain Structure/Stay Healthy

Competition can take place __________ a population if there are more individuals than an area can support (For example between two lions competing for the same mate)

Competition can take place __________ members of DIFFERENT populations (For example maple saplings and oak trees competing for sunlight)

Competition may not benefit individuals within a population, but it can benefit the population as a whole.

Two advantages of competition are:1. limits population size2. Gets rid of weaker/not healthy members of a population, keeping it healthy

Lesson 9: Cooperative Relationships (Aligned with Unit 5 Lesson 13 in OLS)

Essential Questions Main Concepts

What is the difference between the three types of symbiotic relationships?

What is an example of each type of symbiotic relationship?

Why do organisms cooperate?

Complete the chart, identifying each organism as Helped, Harmed or Not Affected. (Items in red left blank for students to complete)

Organism #1 Organism #2 SymbolsCommensalism Helped +/0

Mutualism Helped +/+Parasitism Helped +/-

Identify the following as an example of MUTUALISM, COMMENSALISM or PARASITISM. Write your answer on the blank line to the right of each picture.

Organisms cooperate with each other in order to meet the _______________________.

Ants live inside acacia tree thorns and benefit trees by attacking things that touch it. The ants benefit from getting

Cattle egrets eat insects that the cape buffalos kick up in the grass. The egrets benefit while the buffalo is not affected.

Mistletoe lives on trees and gets its nutrients from them. Mistletoe hurts a tree by robbing it of nutrients needed for growth.

Lesson 10: Real Life Applications:

DAILY ACTIVITY: WEB ACTIVITY - http://fossweb.schoolspecialty.com/delegate/ssi-foss-ucm/Contribution%20Folders/FOSS/multimedia_ms_1E/PopulationsandEcosystems/ecoscenario/yellow/index.html

OBJECTIVES:

Students will complete a guided web activity to explore some current ecosystems that are being affected by rapid changes and the results of those changes on the life within the ecosystem in order to answer the following questions:

How is the health of living things related to the quality of the environment in which they live?

How can people, acting individually and/or as groups influence the environment?

What impact does a changing environment have on the populations within it?