Energy Transfer in the Ecosystem

Engage

Pre-Assessment:

Explore Students are broken up into 3 trophic levels: 20 Primary Consumers, 7 Secondary Consumers, and 3 Tertiary Consumers to explore how energy is transferred and lost in the ecosystem. Poker Chips = Energy from the producers 20 students 200/ students 20/200 3 students 2/20 Name Amount of Energy Started with Amount of Energy Gained (%) Amount of Energy Lost (%) Primary Consumer Secondary Consumer Tertiary Consumer

Explain Ten Percent Rule: during the transfer of energy from organic food from one trophic level to the next, only about ten percent of the energy from organic matter is stored as flesh. The remaining is lost during transfer, broken down in respiration, or lost to incomplete digestion by higher trophic levelsdigestion

Explain Formative Assessment:

Elaborate Math Extension: What percentage of energy will remain if we add a fourth and fifth level? Science Extension: Where does the lost energy go? How does the Rule of 10 affect population numbers of each trophic level?

Evaluate