2. Opening Activity: Jan. 17, 2018
I will stamp your Carbon Pool Questions.
List the 5 carbon pools and provide and example of each.
How are the carbon pools related to the biomass diagram from last week?
Draw a biomass pyramid for an ecosystem that supports grasses and herbivores only.
I can… Explain how carbon pools change in an ecosystem over time.
Homework:
Tracing Carbon WS 1/18
Ecology Test 1/26

3. Organic Carbon Carnivores Organic Carbon Herbivores Atmosphere CO2
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University
Introduce the idea of “pools” of carbon (cont.)
The end result of the animation, but showing the pools up closer.
Organic Carbon
Soil
Organic Carbon
Producers

4. The organic pools and inorganic pools are connected through biological processes
Photosynthesis – transforms CO2 to organic carbon
Biosynthesis & Digestion – rearrange organic carbon molecules into other organic carbon molecules
Feces & death – moves organic carbon to the soil pool
Cellular respiration – transforms organic carbon into inorganic carbon (CO2 in the air)
Students classify the carbon pools as two main types: organic versus inorganic pools and discuss the connections. (cont)
Use slide 12 to summarize the biological processes that connect carbon pools.

5. How are pools and the biomass pyramid related?
Atmosphere CO2
Carnivores organic carbon
Herbivores organic carbon
Producers organic carbon
Soil
Organic Carbon

6. Why does the biomass pyramid have the shape that it does?
To answer the Carbon Movement question and the Energy question, you will play the Carbon Dice Game and pretend to be carbon atoms cycling through an ecosystem with 5 carbon pools.
Producers
Herbivores
Use Slides 2-4 to remind students of the pattern they discovered in Lesson 2; the organic matter pools always form a pyramid with the most mass in the producer pool, less in the herbivore pool, and the least mass in the carnivore pool. Tell students that they will be answering the part of the Carbon Fluxes Question and beginning to think about the Energy Question in this activity.
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University

7. Large Scale Three Questions
Rules to Follow
The Carbon Pools Question:
Where are the carbon pools in our environment? How do the pools change size over time?
Atoms last forever.
For a carbon pool to change size, carbon atoms MUST move in or out of the pool.
The Carbon Movement Question:
Movement: How are carbon atoms cycling among pools?
Fluxes: At what rate are carbon atoms moving among pools?
Matter cycles within environmental systems.
Carbon-transforming processes move carbon atoms among pools. Carbon fluxes change the size of carbon pools.
The Energy Question:
How does energy flow through environmental systems?
Energy flows through environmental systems.
Carbon-transforming processes change energy from sunlight to chemical energy to motion and life processes to heat (eventually radiated into space).
Explain that the Ecosystems Unit the focus will be on tracing matter and energy at the large scale.
Slides to emphasize that the Ecosystems Unit is focusing on a larger scale than previous organismal Units. The focus is still on tracing matter and energy, but the Three Questions are slightly different. You may wish to print the Lesson 1.2 Large Scale Three Questions Poster to post in the classroom and refer to throughout the Unit.

8. Why does biomass pyramid have the shape that it does?
To answer this question, we need to think about the Three Questions at the large scale: The Carbon Pool Question: Where are the carbon pools in our environment? How do the pools change size over time? The Carbon Movement Question: How are carbon atoms moving among pools? The Energy Question: How does energy flow through environmental systems?
Use Slides 2-4 to remind students of the pattern they discovered in Lesson 2; the organic matter pools always form a pyramid with the most mass in the producer pool, less in the herbivore pool, and the least mass in the carnivore pool. Tell students that they will be answering the part of the Carbon Fluxes Question and beginning to think about the Energy Question in this activity.

9. The Carbon Dice Game How to play:
Atmosphere
How to play:
Everyone starts at the atmosphere pool as part of a carbon dioxide molecule, which is a form of inorganic carbon.
Roll the dice and follow the instructions on the atmosphere pool poster to find out where you go and what happens to you along the way.
Use Slides 5-8 to explain the rules of the Carbon Dice Game. Show students where the different carbon pools are set up around the room. Explain that sometimes they will be a part of organic molecules (that contain chemical energy), and sometimes they will be a part of inorganic molecules (that do not contain useable chemical energy). When they are part of an organic molecule, they need to carry a yellow twist tie with them to represent this energy. Show students the containers where they should pick up and drop off their twist ties. At each pool, students should make tally marks on the Tally Cards each time they visit a pool.
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University

10. The Carbon Dice Game
Atmosphere
In the atmosphere pool, if you roll a 4-6, you convert sunlight energy into chemical energy as you change from inorganic CO2 into an organic molecule via photosynthesis. The energy is stored in the bonds of the organic molecule. Pick up one yellow twist tie to take with you to represent this energy. You only get to have 1 twist tie at a time.
Use Slides 5-8 to explain the rules of the Carbon Dice Game. Show students where the different carbon pools are set up around the room. Explain that sometimes they will be a part of organic molecules (that contain chemical energy), and sometimes they will be a part of inorganic molecules (that do not contain useable chemical energy). When they are part of an organic molecule, they need to carry a yellow twist tie with them to represent this energy. Show students the containers where they should pick up and drop off their twist ties. At each pool, students should make tally marks on the Tally Cards each time they visit a pool.
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University

11. The Carbon Dice Game
Producers
Also, if you rolled a 4-6 in the atmosphere pool, you move to the Producer pool. Here, if you roll a 1-2, you convert chemical energy stored in an organic bond into heat energy via cellular respiration. You must leave your twist tie in the heat basket.
If you do NOT do cellular respiration (a roll of 3-6), keep the twist tie and move to the next location. This process repeats at each pool.
Use Slides 5-8 to explain the rules of the Carbon Dice Game. Show students where the different carbon pools are set up around the room. Explain that sometimes they will be a part of organic molecules (that contain chemical energy), and sometimes they will be a part of inorganic molecules (that do not contain useable chemical energy). When they are part of an organic molecule, they need to carry a yellow twist tie with them to represent this energy. Show students the containers where they should pick up and drop off their twist ties. At each pool, students should make tally marks on the Tally Cards each time they visit a pool.
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University

12. The Carbon Dice Game
5. Keep a record! Each pool has a Tally Card. Be sure to make a tally mark each time you arrive at a pool (or if you stay in a pool after a dice roll). |
Use Slides 5-8 to explain the rules of the Carbon Dice Game. Show students where the different carbon pools are set up around the room. Explain that sometimes they will be a part of organic molecules (that contain chemical energy), and sometimes they will be a part of inorganic molecules (that do not contain useable chemical energy). When they are part of an organic molecule, they need to carry a yellow twist tie with them to represent this energy. Show students the containers where they should pick up and drop off their twist ties. At each pool, students should make tally marks on the Tally Cards each time they visit a pool.

13. To Begin…
Start as a carbon atom in the atmosphere. When you start, you are part of a carbon dioxide molecule in the atmosphere, which is a form of inorganic carbon. This means you do not start with a twist tie. Good luck!

14. The Carbon Dice Game: Results
6. When you’re done, collect all the Tally Cards from each station. Count the tallies and enter them into the spreadsheet to produce a “visitation” graph.
Evaluate the results of the game.
Use Slides 9-10 to evaluate the results of the game when it is over. Have students collect the Tally Cards from each station and add up the tally marks. Enter the number of tally marks in the Lesson 3.1 Carbon Dice Game Results Spreadsheet file under the “visitations” tab. This will automatically generate a graph for your class. Students can compare their data to sample data from another class on Slide 12. Ideally, the pools most visited are the Atmosphere, Producer, and Soil pools. The least visited are the Carnivore and Herbivore pools.

15. Compare to Mr. Terry’s class sample data
The Carbon Dice Game: Results
Compare to Mr. Terry’s class sample data
Evaluate the results of the game.
Use Slides 9-10 to evaluate the results of the game when it is over. Have students collect the Tally Cards from each station and add up the tally marks. Enter the number of tally marks in the Lesson 3.1 Carbon Dice Game Results Spreadsheet file under the “visitations” tab. This will automatically generate a graph for your class. Students can compare their data to sample data from another class on Slide 12. Ideally, the pools most visited are the Atmosphere, Producer, and Soil pools. The least visited are the Carnivore and Herbivore pools.

16. Was the Carbon Dice Game supposed to be real?
The game you just played is a model of a real ecosystem, which means that it represents some parts of an ecosystem, but with limitations. This means what happened in the game is not exactly how things happen in a real ecosystem. With a partner, brainstorm about ways you noticed that this ecosystem is different from real ecosystems. When you are done, share your ideas with the class.
Students discuss the limitations of the Carbon Dice Game as model of an ecosystem (Optional).
Use Slide 17 to have students brainstorm their ideas about the model’s limitations and compare them to the suggested ideas on Slide 18.

17. Rabbits don’t only eat grass, and foxes don’t only eat rabbits.
Here are at least 4 ways that the game differs from real ecosystems. How many of these did your class mention? Are there any ways you thought of that are not on this list?
Rabbits don’t only eat grass, and foxes don’t only eat rabbits.
If you go to the soil pool, there is a chance that you will not get digested for a long time. Some organic material is tough to digest even for a decomposer. This is why soil is such a large carbon sink!
In rabbits and foxes, carbon atoms are sometimes biosynthesized into fat. In this case, the fat may be used in cellular respiration and the carbon atoms will return to the atmosphere after a period of time. This is not represented in the game.
In a pregnant animal it is possible that a carbon atom is biosynthesized into a growing fetus in the mother. In this case, the carbon atom would travel from the parent to the body of the offspring. Very few carbon atoms get to do this!
Students discuss the limitations of the Carbon Dice Game as model of an ecosystem (Optional).
Use Slide 17 to have students brainstorm their ideas about the model’s limitations and compare them to the suggested ideas on Slide 18.

18. Tracing Carbon in an Ecosystem
Atmosphere CO2
Carnivores organic carbon
Herbivores organic carbon
Producers organic carbon
Soil
Organic Carbon 99 19 70 32 2
In the Carbon Dice Game, we followed individual carbon atoms into and out of carbon pools. We found that the number of carbon atom visits to different organic matter pools followed the same pattern as the organic matter pyramid.
1. Revisit student ideas about the Carbon Fluxes Question.
Use Lesson 3.2 Carbon Pool Presentation, Slides 2 and 3 to discuss the patterns students found in Lesson 3.1 The Carbon Dice Game. Remind them that in the game they followed individual carbon atoms. Now, they will be tracing multiple carbon atoms through an ecosystem.

19. HOMEWORK: Tracing Carbon in an Ecosystem
In order to understand carbon cycling at the ecosystem scale, though, we need to follow multiple carbon atoms at the same time. Let’s practice doing this on your ecosystem you created last week in your journal. DUE TOMORROW!!
Carnivores
Atmosphere
Herbivores
1. Revisit student ideas about the Carbon Fluxes Question.
Use Lesson 3.2 Carbon Pool Presentation, Slides 2 and 3 to discuss the patterns students found in Lesson 3.1 The Carbon Dice Game. Remind them that in the game they followed individual carbon atoms. Now, they will be tracing multiple carbon atoms through an ecosystem.
Image Credit: Craig Douglas, Michigan State University
Producers
Soil Carbon