Where can I live?
By: Moriah Moore
Purpose: To demonstrate that an animal can only live in a habitat for which it has adapted for
survival.
South Carolina State Standards Covered:
8-2.1 Explain how biological adaptations of populations enhance their survival in a
particular environment.
Performance Objectives:
- Students will learn about pH, temperature, and salinity.
- Students will learn how to measure pH, temperature, and salinity.
- Students will learn about the habitat requirements of a specific organism.
- Students will learn how to recognize which habitats a specific organism can survive in.
Materials: We used Vernier measurement equipment, but it is not required.
- Jars of water from different sources: i.e. tap, river, bottled, estuary, ocean, lake, pond. The
water can be manipulated (cooled, heated, add salt) to acquire the desired water quality. Our
water came from a river, the ocean, and two samples from an estuary, one of which was
refrigerated.
- Vernier temperature probe (or thermometer)
- Refractometer (may need to borrow from a local college lab)
- Vernier pH probe (or litmus paper)
Activity: Assign each group a jar of water (we used 4 different water samples) with their group
number on it, but do not tell them where the water came from. Explain each of the water quality
parameters that you will be testing and how you will be testing for each. Have each group travel
to different station to test each water quality parameter. If you are using a refractometer, assist
the students in using this instrument and explain how it works. After all the data has been
collected, have one member from each group put their data up on the board so everyone can
write down the data for each jar. Have the students work alone to analyze the data to determine
which jars of water represent a habitat that the animal could live in. We discussed stingrays, but
another aquatic organism can be used. You must provide the survivable water quality
parameters for that organism. After the students have analyzed the data lead a group discussion
on where the animal could live and why. Have the students guess where each water sample
came from based on the water quality of each sample.
Activity A
1.) The pH scale goes from
2.) A pH of
3.) A pH less than
(number) to
(number).
is considered neutral.
is considered acidic and more than
is considered basic.
4.) If an animal is known to live in a neutral pH environment, do you think they could also
live in a basic or acidic environment?
Where can I live?
Go to each station in the room and record the temperature, pH, and salinity of the water in each
jar in the table below.
Jar
pH
Temp. °C
Salinity, ppt
#1
#2
#3
#4
Stingrays have adapted to live in salt water with a salinity of 25-34ppt, a temperature of 1331°C, and a pH of 7.2- 8.2.
1.) Which jars of water (#1, #2, #3 or #4) represents an environment that a stingray could
live in? Explain your reasoning.
a. Jar # :
b. Jar #
:
2.) Why can’t a stingray live in either of the other two jars?
a. Jar # :
b. Jar #
:
Activity B
1.) Salinity is a measure of how much
is in water.
2.) The pH of freshwater is more acidic / basic (circle one) than saltwater.
3.) Stingrays live in saltwater with a temperature between 13-31°C. I have a freshwater tank
with a water temperature of 21°C. Can a stingray live in my tank?