Page 1 of 2: Student Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs

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1 Page 1 of 2: Student Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs 222 Harrington Way Worcester, MA (508) Fax: (508) EcoQuest Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs Ecosystems are collections of living and non-living components that make up any part of the living world. Elements of an ecosystem include plants, animals, microorganisms, water and soil. The plants, animals and microorganisms interact with each other and the physical environment, transfer and circulate matter and energy among themselves and the physical environment and are dependent upon one another and their surroundings for survival. Challenge: Look indoors and outdoors to find two ecosystems that are very different from each other. Ecosystem Number 1: What type of ecosystem is this? Please follow the directions on the right hand side and draw and label the living and non-living things in the ecosystem and in this space: Answer these questions in writing and then draw what you have described: 1. Which organisms in the ecosystem are producers (make their own food)? Please identity producers with letter P and label with a name if possible. 2. Which organisms in the ecosystem are consumers (consume food produced by others)? Please identity consumers with letter C and label with a name if possible. 3. Which organisms in the ecosystem are decomposers (decomposers feed on and break down dead plants and animals)? Often, decomposers are microorganisms. Please identity decomposers or areas you think you might find decomposers with letter D and label with a name if possible. 4. Why do you think decomposers are found in the areas that you have labeled? 5. What are the non-living things found in each ecosystem? Please identity non-living things with letter N and label with a name if possible. 6. Draw a food web, connecting organisms that feed on each other to each other.

2 Ecosystem Number 2: What type of ecosystem is this? Answer these questions in writing and then draw what you have described: 7. Which organisms in the ecosystem are producers (make their own food)? Please identity producers with letter P and label with a name if possible. 8. Which organisms in the ecosystem are consumers (consume food produced by others)? Please identity consumers with letter C and label with a name if possible. 9. Which organisms in the ecosystem are decomposers? Often, decomposers are microorganisms. Please identity decomposers or areas you think you might find decomposers with letter D and label with a name if possible. 10. Why do you think decomposers are found in the areas that you have labeled? Please follow the directions on the right hand side and draw and label the living and non-living things in the ecosystem and in this space: 11. What are the non-living things found in each ecosystem? Please identity non-living things with letter N and label with a name if possible. Page 2 of 2: Student Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs

3 222 Harrington Way Worcester, MA (508) Fax: (508) EcoQuest Teacher s Copy Ecosystems Grades 6-8 Before the Field Trip: Please familiarize the students with the following definitions: 1. Ecosystem: Ecosystems are collections of living and non-living components that make up any part of the living world. Elements of an ecosystem include plants, animals, microorganisms, water and soil. The plants, animals and microorganisms interact with each other and the physical environment, transfer and circulate matter and energy among themselves and the physical environment and are dependent upon one another and their surroundings for survival 2. Producers: Producers use energy from sunlight to make sugars through photosynthesis, which can be used immediately, stored for later use, or used by other organisms. 3. Consumers: Organisms that get energy by eating other organisms. There are three types of consumers: Primary consumers (herbivores) are animals that eat plants, such as mice or deer. Secondary consumers (carnivores) are animals that eat the primary consumers, like bobcats and hawks. Some animals, such as bears and humans, eat a diet of both plants and animals and are called omnivores. 4. Decomposers: Organisms that feed on the bodies of dead, rotting organisms and the waste of living organisms and converts the matter back into soil components that can then be used as nutrients by plants growing in the soil. Examples include bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects. 5. Food Web: A diagram of the flow of energy through an ecosystem. At the base of this diagram are plants. Some animals eat plants and get energy from them. Other animals eat the plant-eating animals. When any organism plant or animal dies, its body starts to decay or rot. Microscopic organisms, insects, worms, and other decomposers break down this rotting matter and return its elements to the soil. Plants then take the nutrients from the soil, and the cycle continues. On the Field Trip: Page 1 of 3: Teacher Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs

4 To Teachers and Chaperones: Please read these directions to your child(ren) if they are having difficulty with the directions on the Student Copies of Ecosystems and food webs Grades 6-8. Challenge: Look indoors and outdoors to find two ecosystems that are very different from each other. Prompting Questions for Teachers and Chaperones (Ideally students should review and have some knowledge of these definitions before the field trip see previous page): 1. What is an ecosystem? 2. What are producers? 3. What are consumers? 4. What are decomposers 5. What are the non-living elements of the ecosystems? Water, rocks, soil (full of microorganisms), air. 6. What is a food web? Curriculum Frame Works Life Science 13. Organisms interact and have different functions within an ecosystem that enable the ecosystem to survive. 14. Roles & relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in the process of energy transfer in a food web. 15. Dead plants and animals are broken down by other living organisms, which contributes to the system as a whole. 16. Producers use energy from sunlight to make sugars through photosynthesis, which can be used immediately, stored for later use, or used by other organisms. Please see the Back in the Classroom page to add more to your field trip: Additional Curriculum Frameworks: Life Science 17. Ecosystems have changed through geologic time in response to various influences. Mathematics Data Analysis, Statistic and Probability 7.D.1 Select, create, interpret, and utilize the following tabular and graphical representations of data: circle graphs, Venn diagrams, stem-and-leaf plots, tables, and charts. 8.D.2 Select, create, interpret, and utilize various tabular and graphical representations of data, e.g., circle graphs, Venn diagrams, scatterplots, stem-and-leaf plots, box-and-whisker plots, histograms, tables, and charts. Differentiate between continuous and discrete data and ways to represent them. Back in the Classroom: Applying and Understanding the concepts explored on the Field Trip. Page 2 of 3: Teacher Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs

5 Create a Venn Diagram (Fill in the part of the circles that overlap with features that are the same for each ecosystem. Fill in the rest of each circle with the characteristics unique to each ecosystem). Please see next page for larger student version. Ecosystem #1 Type of Ecosystem: Ecosystem #2 Type of Ecosystem: Have each student analyze their drawings to determine which components are shared between each ecosystem and which aren t. 1. Compare your two ecosystems using a Venn diagram. What is common to both ecosystems? 2. Make a large class Venn diagram. What is common to all of the ecosystems? 3. Imagine that all of the trees were removed from the ecosystem killed by an invasive insect species. Describe what you think would happen to the ecosystem. Don t forget to include what might happen to the non-living parts of the ecosystem, like soil and water. 4. Imagine that a temporary small glacier scraped all the soil down to bedrock, and carried the soil away. In the spring, the temperature went back to normal. Which plants and animals might be able to continue to live in the ecosystem? Which could not? 5. Most of our exhibits feature on type of animal. Describe what you think could happen to the ecosystem if that animal (or animals) were removed from the ecosystem. 6. Imagine that nearby volcanic eruption blocked the sunlight from the area your ecosystem is located for 10 years. What organisms would survive and what would die? In each case, explain why you think so 7. In the space below, rank, from lowest to highest, the energy the passes through an ecosystem: decomposers, secondary consumers, producers, energy from the sun, primary consumers, and omnivores. Page 3 of 3: Teacher Copy: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs

6 Student EcoQuest Worksheet: Back in the Classroom: Create a Table to Compare Collected Data: Share your drawings with the class and analyze your drawings using a Venn diagram. Use your diagram and drawings to answer the following questions 1. Compare your two ecosystems using a Venn diagram then make a large class diagram. What is common to both ecosystems? 2. Imagine that all of the trees were removed from the ecosystem killed by an invasive insect species. Describe what you think would happen to the ecosystem. Don t forget to include what might happen to the non-living parts of the ecosystem, like soil and water. 3. Imagine that a temporary small glacier scraped all the soil down to bedrock, and carried the soil away. In the spring, the temperature went back to normal. Which plants and animals might be able to continue to live in the ecosystem? Which could not? Page 1 of 3: Student Classroom Worksheet: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs EcoTarium

7 4. Most of our exhibits feature on type of animal. Describe what you think could happen to the ecosystem if that animal (or animals) were removed from the ecosystem. 5. Imagine that nearby volcanic eruption blocked the sunlight from the area your ecosystem is located for 10 years. What organisms would survive and what would die? In each case, explain why you think so. 6. In the space below, rank, from lowest to highest, the energy the passes through an ecosystem: decomposers, secondary consumers, producers, energy from the sun, primary consumers. Page 2 of 3: Student Classroom Worksheet: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs EcoTarium

8 Student EcoQuest Worksheet: Create a Venn Diagram (Fill in the part of the circles that overlap with features that are the same for each animal. Fill in the rest of each circle with the characteristics unique to each animal Ecosystem Number 1 Type of Ecosystem Ecosystem Number 2 Type of Ecosystem Page 3 of 3: Student Classroom Worksheet: Grade 6-8 Ecosystems and Food Webs EcoTarium