Station #
We’ve learned that all organisms need energy to survive. The primary source of energy for all organisms begins with the sun. Sunlight provides energy to producers (plants), which are then eaten by primary consumers (herbivores). Primary consumers are eaten by secondary consumers (carnivores), and those will be eaten by tertiary consumers. These interactions can be represented by a simple food chain. A bunch of food chains in the same ecosystem put together can make a food web. Food chains and food webs show the flow of energy from one organism to another.
Food Chain Food Web
Remember that arrows in a food chain and food web show the direction the energy flows, with arrow pointing away from the eaten (prey) and towards the eater (predator).
Make at least 3 food chains or food webs from the following sites. Write down the name of each food chain or food web you complete.
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html
http://www.gould.edu.au/foodwebs/kids_web.htm
http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/eco_info/topics/frogs/chain_reaction/index.cfm
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorer/ecosystems/be_an_explorer/map/foodweb_play.htm
2) Take the food chain quiz. Record your answers and write down your score.
http://www.zephyrus.co.uk/foodpuzzlechain.html
3) Try and score the highest score in this ecosystem game. Write down your score.
http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/game.php?game=foodchain

Station #
Answer the following questions. Remember to draw out diagrams and charts!
1. What is an abiotic factor?
2. What is a biotic factor?
Separate the abiotic and biotic factors below into a Venn diagram:
Fish
Water
Atom
Insect
Wood
Sea Shell
Dirt
Dog
Worm
Wheat
Pine Tree
Energy
Flower
Dead Animal
Sunlight
Ice
Bacteria
Wind
4. Identify the abiotic and biotic factors in the picture below. Make a t-chart to organize your list.
5. What is carrying capacity? How do abiotic and biotic factors limit the number of organisms in a population?
6. In one ecosystem a hare is eaten by wolves. Describe what would happen if the number of hares began to diminish. What would happen if the population number went up?

Station #
Every organism needs to obtain energy in order to live. For example, plants get energy from the sun , some animals eat plants, and some animals eat other animals. A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition. A food chain starts with the primary energy source , usually the sun or boilinghot deep sea vents. The next link in the chain is an organism that makes its own food from the primary energy source -- an example is photosynthetic plants that make their own food from sunlight (using a process called photosynthesis ) and chemosynthetic bacteria that make their food energy from chemicals in hydrothermal vents. These are called autotrophs or primary producers . Next come organisms that eat the autotrophs; these organisms are called herbivores or primary consumers -- an example is a rabbit that eats grass. The next link in the chain is animals that eat herbivore - these are called secondary consumers -- an example is a snake that eats rabbits. In turn, these animals are eaten by larger predators -- an example is an owl that eats snakes. The tertiary consumers are eaten by quaternary consumers -- an example is a hawk that eats owls. Each food chain ends with a top predator and animal with no natural enemies (like an alligator, hawk, or polar bear).
Food Chain Questions
1.
What travels through a food chain or web?
2.
What is the ultimate energy for all life on Earth?
3.
Food chains start with what?
4.
The 1 st organism in a food chain must always be what type of organism?
5.
Name 2 food making processes.
6.
Where do chemosynthetic bacteria get their energy?
7.
Define herbivore.
8.
Herbivores are also called _________________________.
9.
What are animals called that feed on herbivores?
10.
Secondary consumers are eaten by larger ________________.
11.
_________________ consumers eat secondary consumers.
12.
Make a food chain with a producer and 3 consumers.

Station #
The arrows in a food chain show the flow of energy , from the sun to a top predator. As the energy flows from organism to organism, energy is lost at each step. A network of many food chains is called a food web .
Trophic Levels
The trophic level of an organism is the position it holds in a food chain.
1.
Primary producer are organisms that make their own food from sunlight and are at the bottom of every food chain - these organisms are called autotrophs .
2.
Primary consumer are animals that eat primary producers; they are also called herbivores (plant-eaters).
3.
Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. They are carnivores (meat-eaters) and omnivores (animals that eat both animals and plants).
4.
Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers.
5.
Quaternary consumers eat tertiary consumers.
6.
Food chains "end" with top predators, animals that have little or no natural enemies.
When any organism dies, it is eventually eaten by detrivores (like vultures, worms and crabs) and broken down by decomposers (mostly bacteria and fungi), and the exchange of energy continues.
Some organisms' position in the food chain can vary as their diet differs.
For example, when a bear eats berries, the bear is functioning as a primary consumer . When a bear eats a plant-eating rodent, the bear is functioning as a secondary consumer . When the bear eats salmon, the bear is functioning as a tertiary consumer (this is because salmon is a secondary consumer, since salmon eat herring that eat zooplankton that eat phytoplankton, that make their own energy from sunlight). Think about how people's place in the food chain varies - often within a single meal!
Food Web Questions
1.
What is used to indicate the flow of energy in a food chain or web?
2.
What happens to energy as we move from step to step in a chain or web?
3.
Define food web.
4.
What is meant by trophic levels?
5.
Define autotroph.
6.
The 1 st trophic level consists of _______________ consumers called _________________.
7.
Name the 2 nd trophic level (both names).
8.
Secondary consumers may be _______________ eating meat or _______________ that eat both plants and animals.
9.
What is the 3 rd trophic level called?
10.
What is the 4
11.
At the 5 th trophic level called? th trophic level would be _____________ consumers that eat _____________ consumers.
12.
Give an example of 3 detrivores. On what do they feed?
13.
What organism feeds on dead plants and animals and helps recycle them?
14.
Both ______________ and ______________act as decomposers
15.
Can an organism fill more than one trophic level --- yes or no? Give an example .

Station #
In this station you will be making your very own energy pyramid. Be sure you have been to the stations that talked about trophic levels before beginning this station.
1. Shade the first (bottom) level of each pyramid green.
2. Shade the second level of each pyramid yellow.
3. Shade the third level of each pyramid blue.
4. Shade the fourth (top) level of each pyramid red.
5. Label each level of the first pyramid side with the following terms as you move up the pyramid: producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, tertiary consumer.
6. Label each level of the second pyramid side with the following terms as you move up the pyramid: plants, herbivores, carnivores, top carnivores.
7. Label each level of the third pyramid side with the following terms as you move up the pyramid: autotroph, 1st order heterotroph, 2nd order heterotroph, 3rd order heterotroph. Then draw a picture of what might belong in each level:
1st: flowers, grass, trees, algae
2nd: caterpillars, cows, grasshoppers, beetles, small fish
3rd: humans, birds, frogs, penguins, seals, larger fish
4th: lions, dogs, snakes, killer whales
8. Label the fourth side of the pyramid starting at the largest section as you move up: 100% of energy, 10% of energy, 1% of energy, 0.1% of energy. Label the bottom row with 35,000 Kg of biomass. Calculate and label the amount of biomass at each level.
9. Fold your pyramid on the lines radiating from the center and glue it together using the extra flaps. Show your pyramid to Ms. Krenn so she can admire it. Then set it along one of the side counters so others can admire your hard work and dedication to knowledge.

Station #
Recall that ecosystems have limited resources. This makes survival difficult for organisms.
Sometimes organisms within the same population cooperate, or work together towards a common goal. Think about a pride of lions, wolf pack, or killer whale pod. These organisms work together to hunt and kill their food. Through cooperation they increase their chance for survival. Other times populations co-exist, or simply live together at the same time or place.
Symbiotic relationships between organisms are long-term associates between two members of a community in which one or both parties benefit. There are three types of symbiotic relationships: mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Mutualism is a relationship that is beneficial to both organisms. Commensalism is when one organism benefits and the other is not affected. Parasitism is when one organism benefits but the other is harmed.
Other relationships between organisms include predation and competition. When two or more organisms seek the same limited resource, they compete with each other. A resource could be food, water, light, ground space or nesting space. Competition can happen between members of the same species or different species. A predator is an organism that feeds off of another organism; the prey is the organism it feeds on. This relationship is called predation.
Use this information to classify the following interactions between living things. Label the interaction as commensalism, competition, mutualism, parasitism, and predation.
1. Shrimp and Sea Anemone: The shrimp is immune to the stinging tentacles of the sea anemone. By hiding in the sea anemone, the shrimp is protected from predators.
2. Cattle Egrets and Livestock: As they graze, cattle stir up insects, which are eaten by the cattle egrets.
3. Tapeworm and Dog: The tapeworm attaches to the intestinal wall of the dog and takes nutrients consumed by the dog.
4. Ant and Acacia Tree: The ant burrows into a thorn of the acacia tree to live and eat sugar secreted by the tree. The ants benefit the tree by attacking predators.
5. Cleaner Fish and Shark: The cleaner fish feeds on parasites in the shark's mouth and gills.
6. Tick and Cow: The tick burrows into the cow's skin to suck blood.
7. Komodo Dragon and Water Buffalo: The komodo dragon bites a water buffalo to inject it with venom. About 1 week later, the water buffalo dies of poisoning and is eaten by the
Komodo dragon.
8. Tigers and Golden Jackals: Lone golden jackals often follow tigers to feed on the tiger’s kills once the tiger has finished eating.

Station #
Read the passage titled, “Round and Round We Go: Cycles in the Ecosystem” and answer the following questions.
1. List four substances that are recycled continuously.
2. Explain why certain materials must be cycled in the environment.
3. During _____________________________, plants use carbon dioxide from the air.
4. All organisms need nitrogen to make _____________________________.
5. _________________ change nitrogen into a form that can be used by plants.
6. The ______________ we need must be cycled continuously.
7. During photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide and release ___________________ as waste.
8. Water is cycled through the environment by falling as a _____________________ and then
___________ as a gas.
9. During respiration, animals use oxygen and release ______________ as waste.
10. Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating ____________________.
11. Organisms produce water as they get ____________ from the food they eat through cellular
_______________.
12. Explain and draw the water cycle.
13. If all plants on Earth began to die, what would happen to the oxygen content of the air?

Station #
1. Visit this website: http://www.good.is/posts/interactive-infographic-what-renewableenergies-do-we-use-most-and-at-what-cost
2. Click on “launch this interactive”.
3. Click the circles in the middle to learn more about renewable energy resources. Use that information to fill in this chart:
Type of
Energy
Dollars/KwH % of Total
US renewable energy ese
Electricity generated in the US annually
Total primary energy consumed in the US annually
At home use
Wind
Solar
Geothermal
Biomass
4. What percent of energy does the United States use that comes from renewable energy sources?
5. Which renewable energy resource would you, as a citizen of Charlotte, NC, use? Explain.

Station #
Read the passage titled, “Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources”. Answer the questions and fill out the chart below.
1. Summarize each paragraph with one sentence per paragraph. Remember: a new paragraph begins after the break between sentences.
2. Why has the demand to find more than fossil fuels for energy increased?
3.
Type of Power
Biomass
Fossil Fuels
Geothermal
Hydroelectric/hydropower
Solar Power
Wind Power
Renewable or
Nonrenewable?
What is it? Pros Cons
4. Based on the information in the passage, which source of power do you think is the most efficient, with the least negative impact? Write at least four complete sentences and support your opinion with evidence from the passage.

Station #
Visit the BrainPop Science section. Click on “Our Fragile Environment” and watch the videos listed below. As you watch, answer the questions from the videos. Write the answers in complete sentences!
Video: “Recycling”
1. Why do plastic identification numbers exist?
2. Why do materials have to be sorted before they’re recycled?
3. Why does paper need to be treated before it’s recycled?
4. What is most similar to the process of recycling?
5. Which natural resource does recycling paper allow people to conserve?
Video: “Humans and the Environment”
1. What can you conclude from the fact that the human population is so much larger today than it was 200 years ago?
2. What is one negative effect of landfills?
3. What can decrease the use of fossil fuels?
Video: “Air Pollution”
1. What do cars, power plants, and furnaces have in common?
2. How is acid rain caused?
3. Name one difference between smog and acid rain.
Video: “Water Pollution”
1. What was one long-term effect of laws that banned factories from polluting American waterways?
2. Which pollutant is most commonly released into waterways by families and individuals?
3. How can you best help prevent water pollution?

Station #
Some organisms live in symbiotic relationships—close associations of two different species. The type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit is mutualism. One example of mutualism exists between the clown fish and the sea anemone. The anemone provides a habitat and protection for the clown fish, while the clown fish attracts prey for the anemone. In this activity you will write a want ad for a mutualistic relationship. Here is an example of how a want ad from the clown fish to the sea anemone might read:
Brightly colored marine organism looking for place to live. Will provide all meals by luring prey to our home in exchange for protection and shelter from predators. Call
1-800-CORAL REEF or wave me down next time I ’ m in the area.
Directions:
1. Read the following information about the relationship between the Egyptian plover (a type of bird) and the Nile crocodile:
Birds known as Egyptian plovers live around the Nile River. They feed on parasites that live in the mouths of Nile crocodiles. The consumption of the parasites gives the plovers much-needed food and also relieves the crocodiles of harmful parasites that suck their blood.
2. In your notebook write a brief want ad from the plover to the crocodile or from the crocodile to the plover.
3. Answer the following questions:
 How does living with the crocodile benefit an Egyptian plover?
 How does living with an Egyptian plover benefit the crocodile?
 What kind of relationship does the crocodile have with the organisms in its mouth?