Name:
Sofia Rodriguez
Date:
September 7, 2022
Student Exploration: Pond Ecosystem
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: abiotic factor, algal bloom, biotic factor, concentration, eutrophication, mean, oxygen, parts per
million, photosynthesis
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1.
All animals need oxygen. We get oxygen from
the air we breathe. How do fish get theirs?
The fish get the oxygen from the water, which is
dissolved in it to breathe underwater.
2.
Where does the “fizz” in soda come from?
The fizz comes from carbon dioxide dissolved
inthe soda.
Gizmo Warm-up
The Pond Ecosystem Gizmo lets you study ponds as an ecologist
would. Each of the tools can be dragged to the pond to take
measurements.
1.
Drag the Thermometer to the pond at 6:00 am.
What is the water temperature? (°C) 20°C
2.
Click Fast-forward (
and then click Pause (
) until about 12:00 pm,
).
What is the water temperature now? (°C) 31°C
3.
Just as soda contains dissolved carbon dioxide, pond water contains dissolved
oxygen. The unit for measuring the concentration (amount) of oxygen is parts per
million (ppm).
Drag the Oxygen gauge to the pond. What is the concentration of oxygen? 5.23
ppm
4.
Drag the Fishing pole to the pond, and click Play (
). Fish for about four hours.
How many catfish did you catch? 4
How many trout? 0
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Activity A:
A day in the life
of a pond
Get the Gizmo ready:
● Click Reset (
the pond.
). Remove the Fishing pole from
Introduction: The fish in a pond are affected by biotic factors such as other fish, aquatic plants, insects, and
bacteria. They are also affected by abiotic factors, or nonliving factors such as temperature and the
concentration of dissolved oxygen.
Question: How does the amount of dissolved oxygen in a pond change during one day?
1. Observe: Use the Oxygen gauge to measure the concentration of dissolved oxygen at several different
times. How does the oxygen concentration change over a single day?
Oxygen levels rise throughout the day and then go down again at night
2. Predict: At what time should the amount of oxygen in a pond be lowest? Place an “X” in the box.
6:00 AM
X
12:00 PM (noon)
6:00 PM
12:00 AM (midnight)
3. Test: Measure the dissolved oxygen at four times during the day: 6 AM, 12 PM (noon), 6 PM, and 12 AM
(midnight). Then click New pond and repeat the test for two more ponds. Record your results in the table
below.
6:00 AM
12:00 PM
6:00 PM
12:00 AM
Pond 1
4.04 ppm
5.23 ppm
6.43 ppm
5.27 ppm
Pond 2
2.03 ppm
4.31 ppm
6.51 ppm
3.01 ppm
Pond 3
1.91 ppm
3.21 ppm
5.71 ppm
4.21 ppm
4. Analyze: Was your prediction correct for all three ponds? Explain.
Yes, my prediction was correct for all three ponds. Oxygen levels are lowest at 6:00 AMand
highest at 6:00 PM
5. Draw conclusions: The dissolved oxygen in a pond is produced by pond plants and algae (small, plant-like
organisms) in a process called photosynthesis.
A.
At what time of day does photosynthesis take
place?
About 6AM to 6PM.
B.
What source of energy is present during this time?
The sun
C.
Why does the level of dissolved oxygen go down
after sunset?
The sun (source of energy) is no
longer available.
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Activity B:
Get the Gizmo ready:
● Click Reset.
Go fish!
Question: How do concentrations of dissolved oxygen affect fish?
1. Explore: To investigate the question, measure the oxygen concentration and go fishing in several ponds.
(To fish, drag the Fishing pole into the pond, click Play, and wait several hours.) Observe the oxygen
concentration and the numbers and types of fish you catch.
2. Form hypothesis: How does oxygen concentration affect the fish that live in a pond?
The oxygen was rising in the last 6 hours, there was alot og oxygen that was being
pulledthrough when the fish was getting caught.
3. Predict: If you fish in four ponds, will more fish be caught in the two ponds with the lowest oxygen
concentrations, or the two ponds with the highest oxygen concentrations? Explain.
More fish would be caught with the high oxygen.
4. Test: Investigate four ponds. For each pond, measure the dissolved oxygen concentration at 6:00 AM. Fish
for six hours and record how many catfish and trout you catch in each pond. Hint: To find a pond with
relatively high levels of dissolved oxygen (above 5 ppm), select No farms. To find a pond with low levels of
oxygen (below 4 ppm), uncheck No farms.
Oxygen (6:00 AM)
Number of catfish
Number of trout
Pond 1
4.58 ppm
6
2
Pond 2
2.54 ppm
4
0
Pond 3
1.97 ppm
0
0
Pond 4
3.51 ppm
4
0
5. Analyze: What does your data show?
The less oxygen there is the less fish that get on the fishing rod, meaning that they're dying.
6. Draw conclusions: Which type of fish can survive better in low-oxygen conditions? Explain.
The fish that can survive better in low oxygen condition are the regular catfish, but the
troutones cannot surviv3 that well, they need high oxygen.
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Activity C:
Dissolved oxygen
Get the Gizmo ready:
● Select No farms.
● A calculator is recommended for this activity.
Question: How does temperature affect the concentration of dissolved oxygen?
1. Explore: Measure the temperature and concentration of dissolved oxygen in several ponds.
Temperature:15 celsius dissolved oxygen:5.82ppm, 25c 2.44ppm
2. Form hypothesis: How does temperature affect oxygen concentrations?
It makes the temperature hotter which makes the dissolved oxygen starting to decrease.
3. Predict: Which ponds will have a higher average oxygen concentration, ponds cooler than 20 °C or ponds
hotter than 20 °C?
ponds cooler than 20 °C
4. Test: For each pond, measure the temperature and oxygen concentration at 6:00 AM. If the temperature is
below 20 °C, record your results in the left table. If the temperature is above 20 °C, record your results in
the right table. Continue until each table is filled.
Ponds cooler than 20 °C
6:00 AM Temp.
6:00 AM Oxygen
14c
6.04 ppm
Ponds hotter than 20 °C
6:00 AM Temp.
6:00 AM Oxygen
29c
4.04 ppm
20c
3.47 ppm
33c
3.34 ppm
19c
5.37 ppm
30c
2.61 ppm
5. Calculate: Find the mean (average) oxygen concentration for the cold ponds and for the hot ponds. To find
the mean, add the three oxygen concentrations and then divide by three.
Mean oxygen level for cold ponds: 4.96
Mean oxygen level for hot ponds: 3.33
6. Draw conclusions: How does the temperature of water affect its ability to hold oxygen?
The temperature of water determines the oxygen.
7. Infer: Based on this data and what you learned in Activity B, do you think trout will be more common in
warm or cool ponds? Explain.
On the temperature is more warmer then more trout will come from based on activity B
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8. Predict: How do you think the presence of farms will affect the oxygen concentration in the ponds? Explain
why you think so.
Presence of farms chemicals could get in the water.
9. Test: Check that No farms is on and the thermometer and oxygen monitor are still in the pond. Click New
pond until you find a pond with a starting temperature between 20 °C and 25 °C. Record the temperature
and oxygen concentration for this no-farm pond.
Now, turn off the No farms checkbox. Click New pond until you get another pond with a starting
temperature between 20 °C and 25 °C. Record the temperature, number of farms, and dissolved oxygen
for this pond. Repeat until you have looked at five ponds.
Temp. (6:00 AM)
Number of farms
Oxygen (6:00 AM)
Pond 1
22c
0
2.99 ppm
Pond 2
25c
1
3.60 ppm
Pond 3
21c
1
2.13 ppm
Pond 4
20c
1
3.43 ppm
Pond 5
23c
4
3.13 ppm
10. Analyze: In the table, circle the pond with the lowest dissolved oxygen and the pond with the highest
dissolved oxygen. What do you notice about the number of farms for these ponds?
The lower number farms have the real less oxygen
11. Draw conclusions: Based on your data, how do farms affect oxygen levels in the pond?
The chemicals and runoffs and pollution there can affect the water and the fish that live in it
Farmers use fertilizers to increase crop growth. Many farms also produce large amounts of animal waste.
When it rains, excess fertilizer and waste can run off into nearby ponds and streams. The nutrients in these
substances can cause a rapid increase in algae known as an algal bloom.
When algae die, bacteria break down their remains, using up the dissolved oxygen in the water. The rapid
loss of oxygen, or eutrophication, can kill fish and other wildlife living in the pond or stream.
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