Name _______________________________________________________ Date _________________________________ Period _____
Title: Bottle Ecosystems
I.
Introduction/Purpose
Write one paragraph (5-7 sentences) that answers the following questions:
 What did you do? (briefly explain, don’t list all procedures)
 What is a bottle ecosystem? What is a closed ecological system? (See Pre-lab)
 WHY did we do this lab? (What did we want to learn about ecosystems?)
***Must include a Works Cited Page about where information was gathered
II.
Hypothesis
List your two hypotheses – do not say if they were correct here!
1. What will your ecosystem be like after a week?
2. Will you be successful at maintaining a closed ecological system? Why or why not?
III.
Materials

List all materials used in this lab.

Refer to the Class Set of Instructions
IV.
Procedures
 Use bullet points/a list to explain exactly what we did (write it in the past tense)
 Include diagrams/pictures of steps
 Refer to the Class Set of Instructions
V.
Data/Results
Observation Chart
 Include your observation chart.
 Include any additions notes
***You will NOT create a graph for this lab
VI.
Analysis
Discussion Questions Use the following questions to guide your response.

Which organisms were successful? Which organisms were not successful? Why?

What abiotic factors contributed to the survival of the biotic factors?

What abiotic factors contributed to the death of the biotic factors?

Why did we need at least one plant in the ecosystem?

What ecological role do the worms play? Why is this process important?

Why did we not need to add water after the bottle was closed?

Explain how carbon was cycled in your ecosystem.

Explain how energy was transferred in your ecosystem.

Hypothesize what might happen if we left the bottles closed for another two weeks.

If you were to do this experiment again, what would you change about the design of your bottle? Why?
Diagrams Use diagrams to highlight points of your analysis and discussion questions

Chart of Biotic/Abiotic Factors

Food Web of Organisms

Cycle Diagram of the Water and Carbon Cycle
VII.
Conclusion
Included
 Brief summary describing the investigation (what was done and why)
 How is the Earth a closed ecological system like our soda bottles?
 Summarize your results – GIVE DETAILS
 Were your hypotheses correct? Why or why not?
 Discuss any error that may have affected the results (there is always error)
Meaning
 Do you think you were successful? Why or why not?
 What ecological cycles were necessary for your biosphere to survive?
 What did you learn about real ecosystems?
Next Steps
 If you were to do this again, how would you change your bottle design?
 How do humans impact ecological cycles?
 What recommendations do you have for further research?
FOR YOUR FINAL DRAFT: Make sure you have corrected all spelling and grammar errors – have someone proofread it for you. Make sure you have used all science vocabulary correctly. TYPE your lab report in Times New
Roman, 12 point font. Double Space; Use MLA format.
***When you turn in your lab report, staple your RUBRIC face up, on the right hand side, ON TOP of your lab report. This
covers your name up while I grade and it SAVES PAPER!!!
Introduction/Purpose
1 pts
No purpose included
/4
4 pts
Purpose is included, matches the
procedure, and begins with “The
purpose of this lab is to…”
2 pts
Purpose is included but does not
match the procedure
3 pts
Purpose is included and matches
the procedure, but does not start
with “The purpose of this lab is
to…”
Hypothesis
1 pts
No hypothesis included
2 pts
Hypothesis included but not clear
3 pts
Hypothesis included and clear but
not in if…then format
Materials
1 pts
No materials included
2pts
Some materials included.
3 pts
Materials included, but not
bulleted
Procedure
1 pts
Procedure is unreadable
2 pts
Procedure is missing many details
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
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.
2 pts
Chart is included but factors are
not in correct columns.
3 pts
Chart is included but not thorough
enough
2 pts
Food web included but shows
very few relationships between
organisms
3 pts
Food web included but lacks one
important relationship
Diagram of Bottle
1 pts
No diagram included
Data
1 pts
No data chart included
/4
4 pts
Hypothesis included and in
if….then format
/4
4 pts
Materials included and bulleted
/4
/4
4 pts
Chart is typed and titled with
labels where appropriate. All 3
weeks of observation are
included.
Analysis
- Biotic/Abiotic Factors
1 pts
No chart included
- Food Web of Organisms
1 pts
No food web included
/4
4 pts
Chart is included with at least 3
biotic factors and 3 abiotic factors.
/4
4 pts
Food web included and shows all
relationships between organisms
in bottle
- Cycle Diagrams
1 pts
No cycle diagram included
Conclusion
1 pts
No conclusion
/4
2 pts
Cycle diagram included but hard
to understand and not labeled
correctly
2 pts
Conclusion included but
only 1 of 3 requirements
3 pts
Cycle diagram included and
labeled but too small
3 pts
Conclusion included but
only 2 of 3 requirements
included
4 pts
Cycle diagram included with all
appropriate labels and takes up a
full page
4 pts
Conclusion includes all 3
parts but is not detailed
enough with explanation
/5
5 pts
Conclusion includes all 3
parts and questions below
and is thorough in
explanation
Pre- Lab Thinking Questions
I –THE ECOSYSTEM
The ecosystem refers to ____________________________________________________
Ecologists have divided the ecosystem into different organizational levels. These include:
2. Define the following words:
Ecosystem-_____________________________________________________
Biotic Factors-___________________________________________________
Abiotic Factors-_________________________________________________
Producer-______________________________________________________
Consumer-_____________________________________________________
Decomposer-___________________________________________________
2. State the purpose of the lab. (State as a question)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
3. During this experiment we are going to see multiple organisms interacting and reacting to the environment that we
are creating in the bottle as well. In addition these ecosystems will be interacting with the environment of the
classroom in which they will be kept. Create a hypothesis that makes a prediction of what you expect to see happen
to our ecosystems at the end of the 4 week observation period.
If _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
then ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
because ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Post- Lab Thinking Questions1. In the T chart below, list which factors are biotic and abiotic.
Abiotic
Biotic
2. Create a sketch of what your bottle ecosystem looks like after its entire construction. Try to include the water cycle,
carbon cycle, and food chain.
3. What abiotic factor is this ecosystem most dependent on?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
4. What two processes are being done by the insects and the plants?
Plant:
______________________
Worm/ Cricket:
__________________
5. Why don’t we need to water the plant in the dirt? Need a minimum of two reasons. (Hint: Think about the products
of cellular respiration)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
6. List some possible outcomes of this project, for example in 3 months which organism is most likely to not survive?
Explain.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Bottle Ecosystem Observation Records
Date
8/25/14
8/27/15
8/28/14
9/2/14
9/4/14
9/8/14
9/10/14
9/11/14
9/15/14
9/17/14
9/18/14
Biotic Factors
*Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Abiotic Factors
*Quantitative and Qualitative Data
What We Did and
What We Observed