Name:______________________________
Per: _________
Lab Investigation: Biotic Potential
Introduction: Most living things have a very high potential for population
growth. If all the offspring of an organism like a fly survived, all those
offspring survived and reproduced at the same rate, and this went on for only a
few years, the world would be covered in flies (3 or 4 inches high). Fortunately
for the biosphere, there are limiting factors that keep a species from reaching
its biotic potential. You will investigate biotic potential in this lab by using a
green bell pepper
Procedure: Carefully cut open the bell pepper with the scalpel and count the
number of seeds inside. Use that information to calculate the biotic potential
of one bell pepper over 5 years. Construct a graph of your data.
Concluding questions:
1. Does the above graph depict an S curve or J curve?
2. What are some limiting factors that might regulate the bell pepper’s growth to keep it from
reaching the biotic potential?
3. What is carrying capacity and how is it different for an agricultural crop like a bell pepper
than it is for a fly?
4.
Do you think that there is a carrying capacity for humans? What might be some limiting
factors that would influence human population growth?