Station 1: Introduction and Hypothesis
(Use the bold sentences starters to help you start your writing)
TIP: This should be written in paragraph format
1. Introduction:
Write one paragraph that answers the following questions:
 What did we do? (briefly explain, don’t list all procedures)

In this lab we…
 What is a bottle biosphere? What is a closed ecological system?

During the lab we created a bottle biosphere which is…

This bottle biosphere is considered a closed ecological
system because…
 WHY did we do this lab? (What did we want to learn about
ecosystems?)

From this lab we learned that ecosystems…
2. Hypothesis:
List your two hypotheses – do not say if they were correct here!
 What will your ecosystem be like after 3 weeks?
o If I create a closed bottle ecosystem then after 3 weeks (what
will happen?) because…
 Will you be successful at maintaining a closed ecological system? Why
or why not?
o If the ecosystem system is successful then (what will happen?
How will you know if it was successful?) because….
o OR
o If the ecosystem system is unsuccessful then (what will
happen? How will you know if it was unsuccessful?) because….
Rubric
Introduction/Purpose
Std. 10
1 pts
No purpose included
Hypothesis
Std. 10
1 pts
No hypothesis included
/4
2 pts
Purpose is included but
does not match the
procedure
/4
2 pts
Hypothesis included but
not clear
3 pts
Purpose is included and
matches the procedure,
but does not start with
“The purpose of this lab is
to…”
4 pts
Purpose is included,
matches the procedure,
and begins with “The
purpose of this lab is to…”
3 pts
Hypothesis included and
clear but not in if…then
format
4 pts
Hypothesis included and
in if….then format
Station 2: Materials, Procedures, Results
1.
Materials
 List all materials used in this lab using bullet points.
2. Procedures
 Use bullet points/a list to explain exactly what we did (write it in the
past tense)
 Include diagrams/pictures of steps
3. Data/Results
Observation Chart
 Include your observation chart (you can create your chart on a table
on google drive)
 Include any additional notes
* Draw a 1 page diagram of your bottle ecosystem (this should have
been done the day we created our bottles)
Rubric
Materials
Std. 10
1 pts
No materials included
Procedure
Std. 10
1 pts
Procedure is unreadable
Diagram of Bottle
Std. 10
/4
1 pts
No diagram included
Data
Std. 10
/4
1 pts
No data chart included
/4
2pts
Some materials included.
3 pts
Materials included, but not
bulleted
4 pts
Materials included and
bulleted
3 pts
Procedure is clear but is
missing some important
details
4 pts
Procedure is clear and
reproducible
2 pts
Diagram is included but
hard to understand (too
small) and not labeled
3 pts
Diagram is included and
large enough but not
labeled
4 pts
Diagram is included with
all appropriate labels and
takes up a full page
2 pts
Chart included but
incomplete and not typed.
1 pts
Chart included and
complete but not typed.
4 pts
Chart is typed and titled
with labels where
appropriate. All 3 weeks of
observation are included.
/4
2 pts
Procedure is missing many
details
Station 3: Analysis
(Use the bold sentences starters to help you start your writing)
TIP: This should be written in paragraph format
Analysis
Discussion Questions Use the following questions to guide your response.

Which organisms were successful? Which organisms were not successful? Why?
a. In the bottle ecosystem the organisms that survived the longest were the….. They survived the
longest because…
b. The organisms that did not survive were the….They died so early because…

What abiotic factors contributed to the survival of the biotic factors?
a. The abiotic factors that contributed to the survival of the biotic factors were the… These abiotic
factors allowed the living things to survive because…

What abiotic factors contributed to the death of the biotic factors?
a. The abiotic factors that contributed to the death of the biotic factors were most likely… These
abiotic factors led to the death of these organisms because…

Why did we need at least one plant in the ecosystem?
a. Plants were needed in the ecosystem because…

What ecological role do the worms play? Why is this process important?
a. In the ecosystem the worm’s role was to…. The worms were necessary because they….

Why did we not need to add water after the bottle was closed?
a. Once the bottle ecosystem was closed the reason we did not need to water the plants was
because… The water came from….

Explain how carbon was cycled in your ecosystem.
a. Carbon was cycled in the bottle ecosystem through the (list what organisms produced carbon
dioxide). The cycling of carbon dioxide is important because….

Explain how energy was transferred in your ecosystem.
a. Energy was transferred in the ecosystem by __________ eating _____________. For every trophic
level only _________% of energy is transferred.

Hypothesize what might happen if we left the bottles closed for another two weeks.
a. If we left the bottle closed for another two weeks then…. (what would happen?) because….

If you were to do this experiment again, what would you change about the design of your bottle?
Why?
a. If we were to make the bottle ecosystem again then we would change…. because….
Diagrams Use diagrams to highlight points of your analysis and discussion questions

Chart of Biotic/Abiotic Factors
o
In the Abiotic/Biotic Factors chart one can see…. (explain what the chart is showing and
how does it relate to your bottle ecosystem?)

Food Web of Organisms
o
In the food web of the organisms in the bottle ecosystem one can see…. (explain what the
chart is showing and how does it relate to your bottle ecosystem?)

Cycle Diagram of the Water Cycle
o
In the water cycle diagram one can see…. (explain what the chart is showing and how
does it relate to your bottle ecosystem?)
Rubric-ON THE BACK
Analysis
- Biotic/Abiotic Factors
/4
1 pts
No chart included
- Food Web of Organisms
/4
1 pts
No food web included
- Cycle Diagram of Water
/4
1 pts
No cycle diagram included
Std. 6.d
2 pts
Chart is included but
factors are not in correct
columns.
3 pts
Chart is included but not
thorough enough
4 pts
Chart is included with at
least 3 biotic factors and 3
abiotic factors.
Std. 6 f
2 pts
Food web included but
shows very few
relationships between
organisms
3 pts
Food web included but
lacks one important
relationship
4 pts
Food web included and
shows all relationships
between organisms in
bottle
Std. 6.d
2 pts
Cycle diagram included
but hard to understand
and not labeled correctly
3 pts
Cycle diagram included
and labeled but too small
4 pts
Cycle diagram included
with all appropriate labels
and takes up a full page
Station 4: Conclusion
(Use the bold sentences starters to help you start your writing)
TIP: This should be written in paragraph format
Conclusion
Included
 Brief summary describing the investigation (what was done and why) (3-4 sentences)
o
In the bottle ecosystem lab we investigated how… We did this lab to show…
 How is the Earth a closed ecological system like our soda bottles? (2-3 sentences)
o
Earth is like the closed ecological system we created in our soda bottle because they
both…
 Summarize your results – GIVE DETAILS (3-4 sentences)
o
From this lab we found…
 Were your hypotheses correct? Why or why not?

Discuss any error that may have affected the results (there is always error)
o
A possible source of error in this lab was… This affected the results because…
Meaning
 Do you think you were successful? Why or why not?
o
This lab was (un)/successful because…
 What ecological cycles were necessary for your biosphere to survive?
o
In order for my bottle ecosystem to survive it required the cycling of (carbon, water,
nitrogen) because…
 What did you learn about real ecosystems?
o
From this lab I learned that…
Next Steps
 If you were to do this again, how would you change your bottle design?
o
If I had to do this lab again I would change…. because…
 How do humans impact ecological cycles?
o
Humans impact the ecological cycles by…. You see this in the real world by…
-What recommendations do you have for further research?
o
For future research I think scientists should investigate… because… This would be helpful
because…
Rubric
Conclusion
Std.10
1 pts
No conclusion
/5
2 pts
Conclusion included
but only 1 of 3
requirements
3 pts
Conclusion included
but only 2 of 3
requirements
included
4 pts
Conclusion includes
all 3 parts but is not
detailed enough
with explanation
5 pts
Conclusion includes
all 3 parts and
questions below and
is thorough in
explanation