NSWTR 2024 HR - Flipbook - Page 35
YEAR 3-4 SECTION
QUALITATIVE DATA OBSERVATIONS
A qualitative observation describes any changes. What do you see or smell in your ecosystem at the beginning
and after a week or a few weeks?
DRAWING OF ECOSYSTEM WHEN FIRST SET UP
DRAWING OF ECOSYSTEM AFTER ____ WEEKS
QUANTITATIVE DATA OBSERVATIONS
A quantitative observation uses numbers to measure some aspect of your ecosystem. For example, you can
use a thermometer to measure the temperature inside and outside your ecosystem, or source some universal
indicator from your local high school science lab to measure the pH of the soil at 昀椀rst and after a few weeks.
Record at least one quantitative measurement in a data table.
WHAT IS BEING MEASURED?
READING 1
READING 2
(Temperature? pH? Length of a plant shoot?)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What do we mean by an ‘ecosystem’?
2. An ecosystem has living and non-living
features. List some living and nonliving features of a healthy and thriving
ecosystem.
3. Describe how your ecosystem changed
over time. What qualitative changes did
you observe that were added to your
drawing in the data table? For example:
Did the plants grow bigger or did they
turn brown and die? Did water build up
on the inside of the sealed jar? Did the
ecosystem attract or become a breeding
ground for insects?
FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS
4. Did everyone’s model ecosystem change
in the same way? What were some
changes in your classmates’ ecosystems
that you didn’t see in yours?
5. How is your ecosystem in a jar similar or
different to a real ecosystem?
6. What kinds of activities do humans carry
out that harm ecosystems?
7. How can humans protect ecosystems?
8. If we have an ecosystem in nature that
isn’t working, what do you think might
happen to the plants or any animals that
might try to live there?
SPECIES SURVIVAL – MORE THAN JUST SUSTAINABILITY
Instead of an ecosystem in a jar,
you may want to make an insect
hotel – a place for insects to
hide and maybe lay some eggs.
See the following video on how
to build an insect hotel. You can
make before and after drawings
similar to the ecosystem
investigation, as well as estimate
the number of insects that come
to live in the hotel.
Watch the video of Costa
on creating a bee hotel
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